Coinciding with the 31st birth anniversary of Her Majesty Gyaltsuen Jetsun Pema Wangchuck yesterday, Lhalung Sungtrul Rinpoche presided over the groundbreaking ceremony of the 65-bed Gyaltsuen Jetsun Pema Mother and Child Hospital in Mongar. 

The eastern mother and child hospital would be constructed at the Royal guesthouse colony at Nadangzor, which was gifted by His Majesty The King to the people.

It will house three additional blocks of buildings in addition to the existing guesthouse in the hospital vicinity that spreads over 10 acres.

While the two-storey existing guesthouse will be used as community health department block, two storey each from block I and II will be used as paediatric, obstetrics and gynaecology department and emergency and diagnostics department as part of outpatient department respectively.

However, the three-storied block III will function as in-patient department with operation theatre (OT) complex and services.

According to health statistics, 2,477 women gave live birth in various health centres in the six dzongkhags of the eastern region in 2020. The female population in the region was 52,162 and there were 5,356 children under the age of five and 1,256 children who were one-year-old last year.

One of the model hospitals in the country, the proposed hospital will also have a variety of facilities for clinical support and shuttle bus services for patient transfer between ERRH and the new hospital in the field of clinical service, besides specialized services in the field of mechanical, electrical and plumbing.

Chief engineer with the health ministry’s health infrastructure development division, Tandin Dorji, said the ministry has already identified the project team and construction work would be tentatively executed by the end of August this year after the tendering process.

He said the government of India through project-tight assistance has committed Nu 681 million for the project inclusive of furniture and the construction is expected to take about three years.

Health secretary, Dr Pandup Tshering, dzongkhag and health officials took part in the ceremony.

By Tshering Namgyal | Mongar

Edited by Tashi Dema