Karnali, August 19

The Birendranagar-based Provincial Ayurveda Pharmacy is facing shortage of human resource and physical capital due to sheer neglect on part of the government authorities.

Ayurveda pharmacies have been reeling under negligence after the provincial government integrated its structures into the health offices last year for the purpose of lessening administrative expenses.

Pharmacy Chief Dr Shankar Prasad Rijal said there was no availability of human resources required for the operation of province-level pharmacy. He said the pharmacy had the permanent posts of one doctor, one kabiraj, two baidya, one accountant, one lab assistant and two helpers. However, the postings are not adequate to run the pharmacy in a full-fledged manner.

Though Karnali Province Ministry of Social Development was approached for arrangement of additional human resources and physical means the issue has not yet been addressed, he added.

“There is no single post in the administration and pharmacy,” Rijal said, adding that “The provincial government transformed Bheri Zonal Ayurveda Pharmacy into the Provincial Ayurveda Hospital but did not pay attention to its upgradation which had relegated the entire Ayurveda sector of the province to the back-burner”.

All the machines available at the pharmacy have not been put to use due to lack of proper human resources.

The Department of Health Service had provided some equipment used for manufacturing tablets and packaging medicines 23 years ago. Only one of them is working now.

On a daily basis, 150 patients visit the pharmacy for services. According to Dr Rijal, collection and processing of herbals available at the local level have not been carried out due to lack of human and physical resources.

There is a demand to upgrade the pharmacy to a 50-bed hospital.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 20, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.