Shriman Rai, 66, narrated how difficult it was to carry sick people on their back to Phuentshogling general hospital. With no road and no medical facility nearby he said times were difficult. “Even after treatment, when the patient is still recovering, we had to carry them back home from the road point.”
Now, it will be a thing of the past. As the ceremonial scarf was untied, inaugurating a new Basic Health Unit (BHU), Shriman Rai and his mates from Samphelling Gewog in Phuentshogling breathed a sigh of relief on Monday.
“For the past two years, I have been watching the construction of this BHU,” he said. The wait was finally over and he was actively participating in the inaugural ceremony.
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“Irrespective of rich or poor, it will benefit us all. We don’t have to incur the expenses made for traveling to Phuentshogling hospital and also for wages paid to those people for carrying the patients.
“Now, even if we have to carry the patients, the BHU is just nearby. Moreover, we have been told that if the patient is seriously sick then ward facilities will also be provided,” he added.
According to the Gup, Mani Kumar Rai, his people had to travel even to the bordering towns sometimes to avail themselves of the medical services. “But now, with our own BHU, all these problems have been solved.”
The BHU will benefit over 2,000 villagers of nine Chiwogs under the Gewog. Before this new BHU, health services to the people were provided through a temporary unit set up in a rented house in the village. The BHU, manned with two health workers was constructed at a cost of over Nu. 20 million.
