KALENDRA SEJUWAL, SURKHET:

After she experienced labor pain, Hira KC of Khalanga in Rukum district was immediately rushed to the District Hospital by her family members. Unfortunately, she could not receive medical treatment at the hospital as there were no doctors there.

As her condition continued to get worse, her husband Khim Bahadur instantly chartered a chopper paying a staggering Rs 180,000 to take her to Nepalgunj. Fortunately, for Khim Bahadur it all ended happily. “Had there been even a slight delay to take her to another hospital, we would have lost both her and the baby,” recounted Khim Bahadur.

In another incident related to birth pangs, Lachhima Buda of Mugu district lost her life as she could not get timely medical attention in lack of doctors at the Mugu District Hospital.

She had gone to the district hospital to get a dead fetus in her womb removed.

But the hospital, run by assistant health workers, could be of no help. Later, her fetus was removed by doctors at Rara Hospital, a private health institution. Sadly, Lachhima died barely a month after the surgery.

These two women are just victims of the negligence on the part of the government to appoint sufficient manpower at public hospitals across the mid-western development region.

Currently, the people in the mid-west are facing hardships on a regular basis, and are forced to visit private hospitals for medical treatment paying a large amount of money.

The district hospitals in the region are hospitals in name only in the absence of doctors. Instead of appointing permanent doctors, the government is playing with the lives of public by leaving district hospitals in the hands of temporary doctors and amateur health workers.

As per the Ministry of Health, of the 150 posts of doctors at government run mid-western hospitals and health centers, only 58 have been filled so far.

According to administrative officer of the Regional Health Directorate, Khem Prasad Uphadhaya, “The government has not taken any initiatives so far to appoint doctors. As a result, hundreds of people have been deprived of basic health care services.”

He said the directorate has asked the Health Ministry to immediately appoint 56 doctors in the district hospitals of the region. There are 15 districts in the region. In the mid-west, which has a population of 3.6 million, the situation is already alarming with one doctor for every 23,000 people.

The manpower crunch at public hospitals has hit locals of all the districts. The shortage of doctors is seen even in the comparatively developed districts like Banke, Bardiya, Dang and Surkhet.

For example, there are six posts for doctors, including a medical superintended, at Bardiya District Hospital. But only two doctors are working in the district hospitals lately. Consequently, locals in the district have been forced to travel to Nepalgunj even for minor health problems.

Five months ago, Deurupa Dangi of Khairapur, Gulariya had a fever and was feeling dizzy. She was admitted to the district hospital. But assistant health workers in the hospital refereed her to the Bheri Zonal Hospital in Nepalgunj.

“We did not want to take the risk since there were no doctors in the hospital. So, we are advising patients to visit other hospitals,” said a health worker in the district hospital.

In the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, there are posts for around 25 doctors, but only eight have been appointed so far.

Bhola Ram Shrestha, medical superintendent of the regional hospital, said the hospital has not been able to provide specialist services to patients visiting the hospital.

Inexperienced doctors

Majority of doctors working in the health facilities in the hill districts of the region are amateur and work on contract basis. So, locals hesitate to receive treatment from them.

In Dailekh, Jajarkot and Bardiya districts of Bheri Zone, there are posts for 12 doctors. But one permanent and six temporary doctors are running the hospitals. Likewise, many young doctors have been appointed to run the primary health centers in the zone.

“I don´t say young doctors cannot examine patient well. But they are less experienced. We need mature doctors. We do not want to risk our life,” said a local in Bardiya

In Dang, there are two specialized hospitals. But majority of the doctors are temporary. The condition of public health facilities in Rolpa, Rukum, Salyan and Puthan of Rapti zone is grave. Of total 19 posts for doctors, only three doctors are permanent. Other 10 doctors are working on the contract basis.

“Majority of the doctors working on contract basis are here in the district to learn. They work in the district until they become permanent. Once they become permanent, the doctors move to urban areas,” rued locals.

The problem of dismal infrastructure

Apart from shortage of doctors, the public hospitals in the districts are also lacking in terms of physical infrastructure. There are no surgical equipments, beds and enough buildings to run the hospitals smoothly.

A hospital was established at Mahalekuna in Surkhet district some two years ago. But the hospital looks more like a health center than a hospital in lack of a proper hospital building, beds and equipments required for treatments.

On top of that, the Health Ministry is yet to appoint doctors for the hospital. Hasta Bahadur Pun, president of the Hospital Development Committee, said, “We established a hospital. But the hospital has not been able to provide service in lack of proper infrastructures.”

He said the concerned authority is indifferent to the poor condition of hospitals in the entire development region.

Local political leaders unconcerned

Stakeholders allege that local political leaders are not concerned about the poor condition of health facilities in the mid-western development region.

Last month, a former minister Purna Bahadur Khadka had visited the regional hospital. After he witnessed the poor condition of the health center, he immediately telephoned the Health Ministry and reported about the poor condition of the hospital. A week later, the ministry granted the hospital beds and surgical equipments worth Rs 6 million.

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Currently, the people in the mid-west are facing hardships on a regular basis, and are forced to visit private hospitals for medical treatment paying a large amount of money.

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