With a doctor in every gewog still out of reach for now, the health ministry is planning to send mobile medical units, or vans, equipped with a doctor and basic laboratory services. At least one van will be sent to each district, travelling to gewogs at least once a month. The health minister shared this during the Meet the Press session yesterday.
The minister said that the first batch of ten vans were received last month.
He added that the remaining 11 are scheduled to be delivered by August this year.
“The recently received 10 mobile medical units will be allocated in the Yebilaptsa, Samtse, Lhuentse, Monggar, Pema Gatshel, Samdrup Jongkhar, Haa, Trashigang, Trongsa and Wangdue Hospitals.”
The health ministry secured a grant of two million US dollars through the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia (JFPR) for the procurement of 21 mobile medical units or MMUs.
He added that the ministry will also be purchasing eight more from the savings of an earlier ADB Project.
Depending on the population size, a district will receive at least one van.
Each van or unit will have a doctor, a female health worker, a lab technician, a pharmacist and a driver.
The health minister said, “The MMUs are designed to deliver essential primary healthcare services, including outpatient consultations, basic laboratory services, maternal and child health services, screening for non-communicable diseases and health promotion activities.”
With these units striving to make visits to the gewogs at least once a month, the health ministry expects that this strategy will benefit the people of remote areas and strengthen the primary healthcare system.
While the finance ministry approved the implementation of the services, the health ministry has yet to propose the RCSC for additional human resources.
The present government during the election campaign pledged to provide all gewog health centres with one doctor depending on resident population and adequate health staff, including one female health worker. However, the government found that sending one doctor per gewog is not feasible due to manpower shortages.
Kelzang Chhophyel
