Rajbiraj, March 22

Lack of human resources in Saptari has badly affected health services at Rajbiraj-based Gajendra Narayan Singh Sagarmatha Zonal Hospital.

Although the health facility has a quota of 19 specialists, eight medical officers and a medical superintendent, merely one specialist doctor, one medical officer and a superintendent have been providing services. There are only 10 nurses even though there is a quota for 18 nurses. No surgeon has been appointed after surgeon Dr Satya Dev Giri retired a decade ago. “We have been unable to provide emergency surgery services as we have no surgeons,” said hospital sources.

Likewise, the health facility has been unable to appoint an anesthetist, pediatrician among others despite the quota. “We have a quota for 8 medical officers but there are only two of them in service,” said medical superintendent of the hospital Dr Daya Shankar LalKarna, adding that digital x-ray machine, incubator, dialysis machine among other machinery provided by the Ministry of Health a year ago have been staying idle due to human resource crunch at the health facility.”

Civil Society Network Founder Chair Sukha Ram Yadav said service delivery at the hospital was not satisfactory due to lack of doctors. “Some concrete plans of reform are to be developed and executed at the earliest,” he said.