Tshering Namgyal | Mongar
The health centres of Chaskhar and Thangrong gewogs and Lingmethang, Saling gewog in Mongar are understaffed and that is hampering access to quality healthcare services, according to gewog leaders.
The issue was also tabled in the recent dzongkhag tshogdu where LG leaders expressed the need to deploy additional health staff to these health centres.
Chaskhar Gup Pema Dorji said that the gewog has more than 3,000 residents in its 400 households and its health centre has two health personnel.
He said that earlier the centre had three staff and services and managed to cater to the needs of the residents. With one health worker asked to move to Muhung health centre with immediate effect, the residents are worried that the shortage in the staff would hamper the timely delivery and quality of the services.
However, Mongar’s principal district health officer (DHO) Tshering Dorji said that the health worker was transferred from Muhung primary health centre, earlier called BHU, and was temporarily posted to Chaskhar health centre during the pandemic.
Tshering Dorji said that while the Bhutan civil service rules allowed only two health staff in each primary health centre, the need for additional health staff in Chaskhar, Thangrong and Lingmethang were genuine given patient load and population size.
In Thangrong gewog the settlements are scattered and providing healthcare service by two staff was challenging. “Moreover, the population there is increasing with a new satellite town, and regional offices, additional health staff was required,” the principal DHO said.
The DT resolved to submit it to the health ministry.
Edited by Jigme Wangchuk