The district hospital in Baitadi due to lack of human resources is forcing Nepali nationals to seek health care from neighbouring India. The 15 bed hospital in Nepal’s far west is being run by one doctor – the need for another two doctors and four nurses is crucial.
According to records, a majority of the district’s population had to go to nearby hospitals in India as the district health post was unable to serve the needy. Apart from the hospital, the district has 68 health posts and two primary health posts, however, unable to serve its residents.
According to Mahesh Joshi, a local at Dasarath Chand Municipality-9 said that few days ago he had suffered from high fever and visited the District Hospital. He was prescribed a 10 days medicine dose but his condition did not improve. “I was then forced to go to Pithauragadh in India for my treatment where I was cured within three days,” Joshi said.
Ghanashyam Lekhak, another patient with a hand injury (wound), shared that his wound would not heal properly. Later, when he went through checkup in Dhangadi, a doctor told him that his hand’s bone had a small fracture and advised him to take rest for a month.
Likewise, Nepali patients who visited India for their treatment are cheated there. Keshav B.K, while returning to Nepal from India, said that private hospitals and clinics didn’t provide bills of the purchased medicines.
District Hospital doctor Dr. Jagadish Chandra Bista said that the hospital lacked vacancies of two medical doctors and two Primary Health Centres.
There are many complaints from the public regarding the authority’s failure in managing or deploying proper manpower at the hospital.
With inputs from RSS
