The Ministry of Health will come up with mobile gynecological clinic in gewogs that do not have a female health assistant, Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay said at the meet the press on March 2.

Of the 21 female health assistants who appealed to the health ministry to reconsider their transfer, transfers of five were reconsidered based on medical grounds and in the interest of the public.

A media house said that those who appealed based on marital status and family situations were not considered, while according to the guidelines with the Royal Civil Service Commission, both the married couples are entitled to work in the same dzongkhag.

Responding to what the government is doing about it, Prime minister said all appeals on family grounds should be entertained. “The health human resources guidelines have not been implemented for many years. If those guidelines were implemented, all our Basic Health Units (BHU) should have enough health assistants including female health assistants.”

Prime minister said he personally spoke with all the health assistants, health minister, and the human resource officers with the ministry. “We agreed that all appeals should be entertained because the announcement came too suddenly.”

On February 27, the Facebook page ‘PMO Bhutan’ posted that the prime minister met with a group of female nurses and urged them to serve in the rural areas. It quoted the prime minister as saying, “Take this as an opportunity to serve the people and please volunteer to be posted in a rural area if it is convenient for you and your family.”

According to the PMO Bhutan’s post, currently, 51 Basic Health Units in the country lack female nurses.

Acknowledging the importance of having female health assistants in all BHUs, the prime minister said the government wants to ensure that every BHU has at least a female health assistant and there are lots of family problems related to it.

The health ministry will make arrangements and come up with a schedule to have a mobile gynaecological clinic and a clinic that will provide other specific services for women in all the BHUs that does not have a female health assistant.

Prime minister said this is to ensure that women in the gewogs that do not have a female health assistant have occasional access to female health assistants, nurses and doctors.

Dechen Tshomo

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