TIKAPUR: Dearth of medicines has left the sick helpless in Kailali hospital. Patients today lamented that the hospital could not even put into service its free medical insurance purchased by the locals.

A free medical facility was earlier guaranteed by the government under the Community Health Insurance Programmme. The hospital has neither been able to provide medicine nor return the money o the members.

A total of 1,223 people have sought membership under the insurance programme paying a sum of Rs 600 each in advance. They were insured for a year and were entitled to free medical treatment equivalent to Rs 5,000.

As per the policy, each member could deposit a bill if they had purchased the medicine from outside and were to be duly re-funded.

But the members have turned furious as the hospital violated the policy by flagrantly denying them the medicines and failing to refund the medical bills.

Tanoj Pokharel, staffer at the hospital, informed that an

estimated 100 members had submitted the receipts of medicine in the hospital till date. “And another 30 to 35 members had submitted the bills claiming their money every day,” he said.

Local of Narayanpur VDC-9 Jaldhara Pandey was visibly upset as the hospital could not fulfill its’ promises. She lamented,”I arrived here hoping to get free medicine but I could not.’’ When asked to comment, a staffer at the hospital said the acting chief of the hospital Ramesh Poudel did not permit them buy medicine.

However, acting chief Poudel

refuted the charges saying

they were planning to open tender soon for buying medicine with

the money collected from insurance and the hospital fund. “ We will bring the medicine within a week,’’ he added.