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Tibetan Doctors

Location Tibetan settlements in India (Kollegal, Dekyiling, Bir, Mundgod, Odhisha, Mainpat)
Type Health
Amount £37,000 (over three years)

Background
Good healthcare is important everywhere but even more so in remote Tibetan settlements which may be hours away from the nearest hospital. Some settlements in India have small health care facilities, others have larger Tibetan hospitals.

Finding qualified Tibetan doctor to work at these facilities is a struggle – particularly in the remotest of settlements. Newly qualified Tibetan doctors often find it a very daunting task to work in remote settlements, where they can be the only doctor with few facilities at their disposal. Doctors are often on call 24/7 with little or no supervision and have no time to undertake further training.

The Department of Health works to provide salaries for settlement doctors but their limited budget means they can only afford to pay wages that are 50 per cent less than the average doctor’s salary at an Indian hospital. The stresses and strains of the position, together with the low salary, result in many Tibetan doctors being forced to eventually seek work elsewhere, leaving the settlements with no doctors and dangerously limited healthcare

Project
Our grant provides a 45 per cent top up for the doctors’ salaries, ensuring they receive the wages they deserve for all of their hard work. To qualify for a salary top up, doctors have to agree to working in a Tibetan settlement for a minimum of two years.

Through this scheme, six Tibetan settlement hospitals now have permanent Tibetan doctors employed, providing essential healthcare for the local Tibetan communities.

Less and less people are having to make the journey to other hospitals, potentially making their conditions worse or even life-threatening.

“Due to better health facility and availability of doctors, more patients can be looked after in the settlements without having to be referred to private hospital for further treatment.”

– Doctor in Odhisha settlement

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