With water dripping inside their wards, the patients have been forced to sleep in the corridors. [break]
The admission ward, administration office, laundry room, CT scan room and residential quarters have been affected by the seepage but the surgical oncology ward has been the hardest hit. The 25 patients of the ward have been sleeping in the corridor.
“He (Dharmendra Mahato) was operated on Thursday and can´t move. But he can´t even eat in the ward. How can he rest there,” said Mahato´s relative Kumar from Siraha. Sumi Khadka, attending to Ghanashyam Thapa, also blasted the hospital for not providing basic facilities despite charging high fees.
“We had seen thatched roof leak in the village but it is suprising to see even concrete-built hospital facility suffering the plight,” stated Karma Lal Budha of Arghakhanchi, who is attending to his sick wife Tilmata. “It has been leaking since yesterday, but no one has turned up for repair,” he added.
The nurses also conceded that leaking ceilings have seriously affected treatment of patients in the 162-bed hospital that treats over 4,000 patients from across the country every year.
“The leaking roof has made life miserable for the patients and us alike. We have informed the administration,” said a nurse. Hospital Director Dr Bhakta Man Shrestha said the problem was due to the old buildings.
“These buildings made with foreign investment are around 15 years old and the roofs leak despite regular repair every year,” Dr Shrestha said. “We have to approach it in a planned way to solve the problem completely. The fact that we don´t have any where else to shift the patients to has also made the problem difficult to tackle,” he reasoned. He revealed that en engineer has been called to repair things for now.
Related story
Finance minister meets top officials over Nepal Leaks report
