A patient died of diarrhea at the gate of district hospital a few days ago reminding the outbreak three years ago that claimed over two hundred lives. [break]
The district hospital has just one doctor now with one on home leave and the other transferred a month ago. Hospital Chief Vivek Kumar Lal is on home leave while the Department of Health Services (DOHS) has yet to appoint replacement for Amal Basnet.
The district that has just over 150 posts for medical personnel now is facing acute shortage of human resources. The District Public Health Office (DPHO) said the district hospital alone is short of public health officer, four health assistants, two staff nurses, four auxiliary health workers, six assistant nurse midwives, one radiographer for a long time apart from two doctors.
The DPHO said regular programs of immunization, safe motherhood and distribution of medicines have been hit due to lack of health workers. The situation has worsened with rise in cases of diarrhea and viral fever in the villages in the past few days.
The district is facing shortage of health workers also because contract of 22 working at the district hospital and other health centers expired at the end of last fiscal year, the Department of Health Services (DOHS) transferred 13 health workers in one lot and eight are out of the district for six-month trainings.
Office assistants are providing services at some health centers. People of remote villages complain that they have to walk for over a day to reach the district hospital even for minor ailments.
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