With medical examination slots for Australian visas booked till the end of July, the Gelephu Central Regional Referral Hospital has temporarily suspended online registration for medical examinations.
The online registration has been suspended since the end of March and will be in place till the end of July.
Dr Choeda Gyaltshen, the medical superintendent of the Gelephu Central Regional Referral Hospital said the hospital has already given appointments for visa medical examination till the end of July.
He said the hospital had to increase daily medical examinations from eight to 16 owing to an overwhelming number of people registering online.
According to the doctor, people call the hospital requesting earlier appointments citing the end of May as the joining date for their respective institutes.
“We managed to provide service to 16 clients per day starting from three in the afternoon and sometimes it goes on till 9 PM,” said Dr Choeda Gyaltshen.
According to the medical superintendent, the hospital has done medical examinations for almost 850 people since the start of February this year.
With the medical examination fee set at Nu 1,500 per person, the hospital has collected over Nu 1 M in fees since February.
The Gelephu Central Regional Referral Hospital started offering medical examination services since February to reduce the number of people availing of the same service at the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital in Thimphu.
The Eastern Regional Referral Hospital in Monggar also offer medical examination for an Australian visa.
Karma Wangdi, Gelephu
Edited by Sherub Dorji
