Doctor Refutes Claims in Tashichholing Child Death Case

The death of a six-year-old girl at Tashichholing hospital in Samtse has ignited nationwide concern over staffing shortages in rural health facilities. As public debate intensified over alleged delays in treatment, a Phuentsholing-based doctor—whose name appeared in several media narratives—has issued a formal clarification to Business Bhutan, stating that some accounts of the incident are misleading.
The child was brought to Tashichholing hospital in the early hours of October 20 after developing high fever and vomiting through the night. According to her family, no doctor was on duty when they arrived, and the girl remained unattended for about 45 minutes. Her condition deteriorated rapidly.
Shedding light on the case, the doctor from Phuentsholing said that there is a lot of ongoing misleading information regarding the incident in the media.
“It was falsely claimed that they had waited for 45 minutes for the Phuentsholing doctor (My name was mentioned) to arrive due to which there was delay and the unfortunate death,” the doctor clarified.
“I want to clarify that firstly I am a doctor based at Phuentsholing, Chhukha and I was never deployed by the Health Ministry or Samtse CMO to attend the emergency at Tashichholing hospital,” he said. “Secondly, I had no information about the absence of doctors in Tashichholing hospital.”
He said that he was there on personal work to visit his adopted sister who had been treated and was being discharged from Tashichholing hospital ward.
“I reached Tashichholing on Sunday night (October 19), the day before the incident. By no means was I on duty. We were about to leave the hospital when the child had been brought in by her mother on the morning of the day of the incident,” the doctor said.
He mentioned that the staff on duty had done initial assessment and found that the child was in cardiac arrest. The staff had then initiated the resuscitation process to revive the child.
“During the resuscitation process, the health staff of Tashichholing hospital requested me for help while I was passing by. Only at that time I came to know there was no doctor in station,” he said.
He added, “Based on moral and ethical grounds, being a doctor myself I helped with the resuscitation. We managed to get the child’s heart beat back two times, did necessary critical interventions including intubation and initiated the process for airlifting to JDWRNH after the second revival. However, the heart stopped for a third time and we were not able to revive the child further.”
Responding to claims of poor communication, the doctor said the mother was fully briefed throughout the crisis.
“I personally explained the child’s critical condition, the procedures conducted, and the airlift preparations. Despite everyone’s best efforts, we could not save her,” he said.
According to the doctor, while the family suspects food poisoning, clinical indicators point toward pneumonia.
“The mother reported several days of high-grade fever and worsening cough. This strongly suggested a severe lung infection,” the doctor noted, adding that resuscitation took precedence over diagnostic discussions.
Hospital Staffing Under Scrutiny
Tashichholing hospital—classified as a 10-bed facility—had three sanctioned medical officers. But staffing had only drastically declined in recent months.
While one doctor resigned in October, the second one left for long-term training in July. The only administratively serving third doctor was on medical leave with a foot fracture.
This left the hospital with no doctor on duty when the emergency occurred.
Despite these circumstances, the Phuentsholing doctor stressed that he was not part of the hospital’s roster.
“I want to reiterate that I was a visitor and not informed of the staffing shortage,” he said.
The doctor expressed confidence that the tragedy will prompt systemic improvements.
“I believe the Health Ministry is prioritizing critical areas like Tashichholing to strengthen human resources and equipment for growing patient needs,” he said.
Calling for accountability, family members remain distressed, insisting that earlier intervention might have changed the outcome.
Responding to queries from the media, Health Minister Tandin Wangchuk confirmed that a full investigation is underway.
“The initial report indicates that the child arrived in critical condition. Dr. Jigme Y. Chophel was present and initiated intubation. Emergency airlifting was arranged, but they could not save the child,” he said. “Once the investigation report is complete, we will share it.”
He added that Tashichholing hospital has been prioritized for recruitment to meet the human resource standards required for a 20-bed facility.
As the investigation continues, the bereaved parents say they hope no other family faces such a preventable loss.