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

The Department of Health, Central Tibetan Administration holds Fifth Health Review Meeting from 20-21 April 2011. Photo /Nyima /DIIR

DHARAMSALA: The Department of Health of the Central Tibetan Administration is holding Fifth Health Review Meeting form 20-21st April 2011 in Dharamsala. This meeting is attended by medical professionals from Deleck Hospital, Mentsee Khang, staff of the Health Department, ten chief executive officers of the Tibetan hospitals and Ngoenga school (of physically challanged students) and five doctors from Tibetan settlements in different parts of India. During this meeting medical professionals will review decisions and work out follow ups of the previous meeting, discuss deliberately on methods of combined medical practice of Tibetan traditional medicine and allopathy, prevention of Tuberculosis, Hepatitis,and other diseases. They will talk on how to cure and prevent drug addiction, gastric, cancer, AIDS, Malaria and to improve mother and child health. This meeting will also discuss on how to care for the physically challenged children. Kalon Chope Paljor Tsering on the occasion said, staff members should work with dignity, confidence and happiness to serve the people and this will for sure bear fruitful results. The Kalon emphasised on the need to apply a holistic medical practice using both traditional Tibetan system and allopathy through research and practice. The Kalon further said, the health department had made great efforts to prevent and cure diseases like TB and we should also work on to combat all the other diseases like diabetes and blood pressure diseases. Mr. Wangchuk Phasur, Secretary of the Health Department, in his opening address 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. He said health department is working well in making improvement in the healthcare as according to an NGO who went to a major Tibetan settlement in South India. This NGO  told the department, “  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”. First health review meeting was held in 1993. Workshop on Tibetan Medicare System Programme Staff of the Department of Health, yesterday attended a workshop to implement Tibetan Medicare System Programme to facilitate Tibetans living in exile with medical health insurance from 1st October 2011. The Tibetan Medicare System Programme was first announced on 9th March 2011. Under this medicare system Tibetan people can have medical benefits of secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities. Department of Health 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 1st October 2011.