Two years from now, people living in the six eastern dzongkhags need not have to visit Thimphu to avail themselves of services related to maternal and child health. The groundbreaking ceremony of the Gyaltsuen Jetsun Pema Mother and Child Hospital in Monggar was held yesterday coinciding with the Birthday of Her Majesty The Gyaltsuen.
According to an official from the ministry of health, the execution of work to construct a 65-bedded Gyaltsuen Jetsun Pema Mother and Child Hospital in Monggar is expected to begin by the end of August this year. The government of India funded around Nu 681 M for the construction of the new hospital including the procurement of furniture. The new hospital is expected to bring the subspecialty aspects of pediatric, obstetrics and gynaecological services out of Thimpu to the other eastern districts.
“The main objective of constructing Mother and Child Hospital is also in line with the plan of the government to strengthen the speciality services in the district and regional hospitals. So with the establishment of this mother and child hospital in the east, it will benefit the patients from all the six eastern Dzongkhag. So it will reduce referral to the national referral hospital in Thimphu,” said Dr Pandup Tshering, the Secretary of the Ministry of Health.
He also added that the current space crunch in Monggar Regional Referral Hospital is also likely to ease once the new hospital is complete:
“There is a lot of space crunch at the Monggar RRH today. So that will be solved because whatever the mother and child facilities that are existing in the present hospital will be shifted to the new hospital and those existing spaces can be utilised for other speciality services.”
The new hospital will be also the first-ever hospital in the country to be built on green and renewable concepts which is patient-friendly including people living with disabilities.
“It’s ecofriendly. They call it a green hospital. So here one thing is we will be using more solar energy, natural light and also the waste will be regenerated; we have a system for that. And also there is new paint in the market, which is specific for the hospital, which is also supposed to be less infectious,” the Health Secretary added.
Once complete, the new hospital is going to benefit over 69,000 people including women and children. Residents of Monggar town are also expecting to see improvement in maternal and child health services from the new hospital.
“Since paediatrician and gynaecologist are both located in the same hospital, it is inconvenient for the children without a mask to visit the hospital during the pandemic. It will be more convenient for us to visit the new hospital once it is shifted into a new one. As we can meet the Doctors here, it would also reduce our cost of visiting Thimphu,” said Damcho Dema in Monggar Town.
“After reaching the hospital, we have to wait for sometimes to meet the Pediatrician. As there is only one Pediatrician, he comes to the chamber only around 1 or 2 pm. So it is challenging for us to wait for Doctor with our child. If a child is referred to Thimphu, it is far away from the east and moreover, during summer the road is also not in condition. So it will be good to have a separate mother and child hospital in Monggar,” added Tendrel Zangmo, also in Monggar.
The new hospital is a Royal Gift from His Majesty The King. Meanwhile, Monggar RRH also received two sets of Cardiotocography (CTG) yesterday. It is a device to monitor fetal wellbeing during pregnancy.
Sonam Tshering, Monggar
