Health Department Holds Fifth Health Review Meeting [Wednesday, 20 April 2011, 3:44 p.m.]

From left: Additional Secretary (Health) Topgyal Tsering Zongkha, Secretary (Health) Wangchuk Phasur, Health Kalon Chope Paljor Tsering and CEO (Delek Hospital) Dawa Phunkyi during the opening day of the meeting at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala, India, on 20 April 2011

DHARAMSHALA: The
meeting is being attended by medical professionals from Delek Hospital,
Mentsee Khang, staff of the Health Department, ten chief executive
officers of the Tibetan hospitals and Ngoenga school for physically
challenged children and five doctors from Tibetan settlements in
different parts of India. During this meeting medical
professionals will make a comprehensive review of the past resolutions
and its implementations. The participants will hold intensive
deliberation on how to improve and strengthen the medical system by
adopting a holistic approach of both traditional Tibetan medicine and
allopathy. The meeting will work out plans to strengthen
measures to combat diseases like tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis,
stomach ulcer, cancer, high blood pressure and drug addiction. It will
devise programmes on how to educate the Tibetan people about
precautionary methods and to maintain a sustainable healthy community.
Deliberations on mother and child care and health care programme for
physically- and mentally-challenged persons are also on the agenda.
In his opening remarks, Health Kalon Chope Paljor Tsering called on all
the concerned staff members and health workers to put enthusiasm in
their efforts so as to ensure good results. He particularly
called on the staff working in the Tibetan community health centres to
work with interest and sincerity without giving into complacency.
In his address, Mr Wangchuk Phasur, Secretary of the Health Department,
said health is a very important factor for an individual and a society
as a whole to fulfil any kind of ambition one holds in life. For this
reason the health department is holding this meeting to discuss,
exchange ideas and share knowledge and experiences, and work for
further development of health condition of the Tibetan people.

Participants at the meeting

He
said health department is working well in making improvement in the
health care as according to an NGO who went to a major Tibetan
settlement in south India. The NGO told the department that the health
of the Tibetans have improved well as compared to the earlier days and
the Tibetan people living there have more knowledge of basic health
education, Mr Phasur said. The first health review meeting was held in 1993. Workshop on Tibetan Medicare System Programme
The staff members of the department of health attended a workshop
yesterday on how to implement Tibetan Medicare System Programme to
facilitate Tibetans living in exile with medical health insurance from
1 October 2011. The Tibetan Medicare System Programme was
first announced on 9 March 2011. The Tibetans can avail medical
benefits of secondary and tertiary health care facilities under the
medicare programme. The health department will build a public
and private partnership model to avail this medicare to Tibetans by a
self-financing scheme, for which each family of five members can avail
a maximum collective benefit of up to Rs. 1 Lakh on hospitalization
expense per year for the annual household contribution of Rs. 3565
only. Individual medicare scheme will also be available.
Although membership for Tibetan medicare system programme is
voluntarily but the department of health will not entertain any
applications for reimbursements of medical expenses from those who
won’t be registered for this programme from 1 October 2011.