Nima Wangdi  

People suffering from Tuberculosis (TB) and flu-like symptoms will no longer be checked and treated at the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital (JDWNRH).

They will have to visit the flu clinic at the RBP ground below the hospital from today.

People coming to avail health services for these illnesses will be diverted to the flu clinic.

Officiating Director for the department of public health, Rixin Jamtsho said that it was being done to prevent the hospital from the risks of Covid-19 and TB. He said HIV, Hepatitis B, and syphilis would also be checked on a voluntary basis at the flu clinic.

“He said that besides the people coming to the hospital for health check-ups, there are also patients admitted in the hospital who are vulnerable to Covid-19 and TB,” he said.

The flu clinic will remain open from 9 am to 3pm on weekdays. It will be open from 9 am till 1pm on Saturdays.

Individuals with cough, fever and other flu-like symptoms are asked to visit the flu clinic, not the outpatient department of the hospital.

Rixin Jamtsho said that the ministry encouraged other major hospitals in the country to do the same. They already have flu clinics and some are functional.

He said while the flu clinics in the other dzongkhags will focus on flu-like symptoms and TB, the ones in the Southern dzongkhags will have to focus on screening for Malaria and dengue as well.

Flu clinics were initially set up in 2019 to screen TB, which were later used for screening Covid-19.