The Chhoekhor_Tang’s Member of Parliament, Dawa, says the specialists recruited at the Wangduecholing Hospital in Bumthang are not on temporary placement amid scepticism from the public on the sustainability of the services after they were unveiled to the people yesterday. Deploying four specialists at the hospital was one of the major pledges the Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa launched during the 2020 National Assembly bye-election.
The specialists arrived more than 18 months after MP Dawa was voted to the Chhoekhor_Tang’s National Assembly seat. Many were unconvinced about the fulfilment of the pledge especially the Opposition Party citing the dearth of specialists in the country. The MP himself was in fact unsure if the pledge could really be delivered, initially.
“I doubted myself if the pledge could really be fulfilled. As a political candidate, I promised so many activities to the voters as is the case with party politics. I thought I won’t be able to face my people if I don’t deliver what I promised,” he said.
The promise came true though light-years away than initially assured to the people. A paediatrician, a gynaecologist, an anesthesiologist and a general surgeon along with three nurses formally took over the OT services at the hospital. The specialists are fairly new to their profession and are mostly graduates of the Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences.
Meanwhile, people on social media are already raising concerns over the sustainability of the services at the hospital. Some remarked that an initiative driven by party politics could possibly come to an abrupt end if a new government comes into power next year. Some also expressed that the services could remain underutilized given Bumthang’s relatively small population of a little over 2 per cent of Bhutan’s total population. MP Dawa said the specialist services would cater not only to Bumthang but the entire central region.
“If we consider native Bumthang’s population, it is relatively small but there are people living in Bumthang from all across the country. So population is not an issue. Moreover, people from Trongsa, Zhemgang and other nearby places can also avail themselves of the services. So I think the services won’t remain underused,” he said.
He also said the specialist services will keep advancing rather than getting wound up a few years on due to Bumthang’s growing population fueled by the domestic airport and other developmental activities. He added that the currently launched services are only the first phase of specialist services and more will be provided in the second phase.
“It’s true that there are people questioning the continuity of the services due to the sociopolitical nature of the pledge. However, the current services are a part of the Health Ministry’s cluster hospital initiative where districts are grouped together with one central hospital. There are 10 such hospitals and Wangduecholing Hospital is one among them. So Bumthang is eligible for the specialist services and this will naturally be continued in the years to come,” he added.
Wangduecholing Hospital was built around three decades ago. It is a 20-bedded district hospital. As per the hospital’s records, it had 55 referral cases related to childbirth last year. This is almost more than 40 per cent of the total referrals the hospital made last year.
“Even as per our monthly outpatient statistics, Wangduecholing Hospital stands among the top five hospitals with most outpatient cases among the 28 district hospitals,” said Dr Pema Wangchuk, the Chief Medical Officer at the Wangduecholing Hospital.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, there are currently 143 specialists in the country. However, the health sector still faces a shortage of specialists.
Kipchu, Bumthang
