Currently, there are only two doctors in the hospital which has positions for 11 doctors. Then Health Minister Rajendra Mahato and chairman of Nepal Sadbhawana Party renamed the hospital after the name of late Madhesi leader Gajendra Narayan Singh, last year. However, locals complain that Mahato did nothing to improve the services at the hospital. [break]
According to hospital sources, the hospital has not conducted any complicated surgery for the last seven years. The source said that the hospital refers the patients to other hospitals even for minor surgeries as there is no surgeon at the hospital. The only surgeon at the hospital Dr Satyadev Giri retired some time ago.
The hospital, which provides health services to people from six districts, has only two expert physicians and a pediatrician.
Acting Medical Superintendent of the hospital Dr Sailesh Kumar Jha said the government´s safe motherhood program has been affected due to lack of gynecologist and other surgeons at the hospital. Jha further informed that the positions for medical superintendent, surgeons, pathologists, physicians, gynecologist, anesthetist, dental surgeon, ENT surgeon, dermatologist and general physician have remained vacant for a long time now.
Jha said the hospital has repeatedly asked the Health department to fill the vacant posts but to no avail. “Fund crunch facing the hospital development committee has further exacerbated the situation. Despite this, we are providing service to the people,” Jha said.
Tara Kant Jha, record keeper at the hospital, said a total of 6,622 patients visited the hospital from mid-June to mid-July last month.
Established 42 years ago under the auspices of the government of India, the zonal hospital is in the sorry state.
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