Birgunj, August 17 Hundreds of service seekers have been deprived of quality and timely health services due to the manpower crunch in Narayani Sub-regional Hospital in Birgunj, Parsa. As per the proposed 199 quotas at the hospital, the health facility should have at least 15 11th grade doctors. But the hospital has only three doctors of that level and one of them is on leave these days. Similarly, there are only 13 doctors of 9th and 10th grades among the required 34 doctors in the hospital. The Ministry of Health had recently sent 11 doctors to the hospital while the remaining doctors have been recruited on contract basis and their contract term is of maximum two years. At least two account officers’ posts are lying vacant in the hospital besides pharmacists and housekeepers. The post of matron, junior matron and three nurses also have been lying vacant for long. Many doctors and health staffers, who are transferred from other health facilities, do not stay in the hospital due to lack of attractive incentives and other facilities. Similarly, nurses and other women staffers do not feel secure staying outside the hospital as hostels managed for them is being used by other non-nursing women. “Many of the women seem reluctant to stay and serve at the hospital owing to lack of safety,” said hospital sources. A well-equipped residential building for nurses had been managed behind Arogya Building and Parturition Department. However, the building is occupied by non-nurses. Though a hospital development committee was formed under the chairmanship of Sudeep Lama to evacuate the building, it has not been successful. The hospital, which was once popular for its dialysis service, has seen its fame waning due to manpower crunch. Though there are five dialysis machines granted by the state and other donor agencies, the health facility can provide service to only one patient on a daily basis. A single person can’t handle all the machines. “If we ask freshers to use the machines, they can’t yield quality service,” said Dr Manoj Gupta of the hospital. The hospital provides Intensive Care Unit, CT-scan, audiogram and physiotherapy, among other services. But these services have been adversely affected due to manpower crunch. Ramesh Chaudhary, spokesperson of the hospital, said they were facing a hard time due to the lack of doctors, matrons, junior matrons and nurses for long. “Though we wrote to the Ministry of Health about the problem, no substantial remedy has been given yet,” said Chaudhary.