Jajarkot, March 28

Patients have been facing a hard time due to lack of doctors at Limsa Primary Health Centre of Barekot Rural Municipality in Jajarkot.

The health centre has been running without doctors for the past six months though there is a quota of MBBS graduate in the health facility.

Patients were deprived of health service after medical officer Dr Sandip Kiran Pradhan took leave for further studies. Rural municipality Chairman Mahendra Sha said Dr Pradhan’s leave had disrupted the health service. “The locals were deprived of basic health facility after the Department of Health approved Dr Pradhan’s leave without managing any alternative.”

Gorakh Bahadur Singh, a local teacher said the crisis started after Dr Pradhan took leave for MD studies. He said vacancy for nine staffers including staff nurse, auxiliary mid-wife and lab assistant, among others, had been vacant for quite long. “It has been many years, however, the lab service has yet to come into operation.”

The primary health centre is two-day walk away from the district headquarters Khalanga and it has no access to transportation facility. Villagers have lost their lives owing to  lack of even basic treatment. Man Bahadur Chalaune, a local, said people were compelled to visit shamans when they fell ill due to the lack of treatment facility.

Coordinator at Barekot Department of Health and Sanitation Bir Raj Singh said the authority concerned didn’t manage health workers as per the quota.

(Patients returning without treatment from Limsa Primary Health Centre in Jajarkot, on Thursday.