The Ministry of Health (MoH) in collaboration with WHO will introduce CT Scan services at Samtse and Dewathang hospitals.
Currently, MoH is working on the procurement process, infrastructure and human resource capacity building to operate the services at the hospital. Tentatively, MoH plans to operate the service by mid of 2023. The two CT scan machines cost Nu 102 million.
There are CT services only at JDWNRH, Gelephu and Mongar at the moment.
The patient referral to the national and regional hospitals from the lower health facilities is expected to be significantly reduced, thereby reducing patient waiting time, and most importantly enabling them to provide quality specialized health services.
CT machine is used for scanning the brain, staging of cancers, chest, upper and lower abdomen, bone fractures, lung, kidney and trauma.
More than 3,826 patients have had CT scans performed starting January 2022 till date in JDWNRH, of which, 3,349 patients were scanned after the CT scan machine was made functional. Most patients requiring CT scans in JDWNRH come from different dzongkhags.
The current CT scan machine at JDWNRH is four years old. MoH is planning to buy a new machine for JDWNRH when funds are available. The CT scan machine cost is Nu 100 million in the market.