Hospitals like the Teaching Hospital or Bir Hospital are, in many ways, paragons of exemplary delivery of public service. Certainly, no doubt that things could work better there on many fronts: manpower may be lacking or underpaid or unrecognised, and resources might be scarce, but still, they are operating and offering a great service at a very accessible price
In my latest piece I wrote about resilience and how a just an inclusive public health system can be paramount to having the most vulnerable citizens enjoy their rights instead of dying or having their families end up bankrupt.
It was also a story about remarkable persons, common women and man that too often we tend to discount and overlook, people who are hard workers and yet whose problems are mostly invisible and too easy to ignore by many of us.
I also mentioned the case of a young promising woman, Jyoti Budathoki, who has been living since childhood of a rare and degenerative condition, an incurable autoimmune disease called systemic sclerosis.
Jyoti is one of the many citizens who have been going through hell but whose resilience is remarkable and inspirational for all of us.
Having a just and fair public health system is essential if we want Nepal to do a better job for Jyoti and many others. Moreover, in reality, there won't be any graduation to lower middle income country, if the system cannot take better care of its citizens.
Let's forget all the other benchmarks and conditionalities, we need to ensure that the State is present and actively supports you when you are in trouble with your health.
I would like to share a small personal story at this point.
A few days ago while cleaning my old bicycle, I got a cut in my arm, nothing serious but still I went to a pharmacy for healing the wound as at home we had run out of the disinfectant.
There I was asked when I had taken an anti-tetanus vaccination, and, honestly, I could not recall when it was the last time I had done that. So reluctantly I went to the Teaching Hospital to take the injection.
I have been several times to public hospitals, and I always found their services more than acceptable, and also this time, I got even more convinced about this assessment of mine.
Indeed, also in this situation I got a great service at the emergency department, where a doctor took care of me, giving me time and attention. He was a young doctor who showed empathy and dedication, and for me he was a great example of public service.
Perhaps, you might be induced to think that he treated me well because I am a foreigner, but the way he was patiently talking with other patients and discussing with the nurses was always very polite and respectful.
You can imagine how crowded the emergency at the Teaching Hospital could be at any time, but even in those conditions, this doctor was always very professional and dedicated to everyone.
I was impressed by his performance, and this made me think that there are out there many professional public servants who always do their best fortheir clients, the citizens of this nation.
In the public hospital and likewise in the public schools, amid those who just do their jobs for the sake of it, with no passion and enthusiasm, there is a multitude of others who instead are showing the way, always ready to step up and do what is due and, oftentimes, even go beyond their normal duties.
The doctor that attended me and many other patients that day proves that the public health system is not entirely broken but rather is working quite effectively.
Hospitals like the Teaching Hospital or Bir Hospital are, in many ways, paragons of exemplary delivery of public service. Certainly, no doubt that things could work better there on many fronts: manpower may be lacking or underpaid or unrecognised, and resources might be scarce, but still, they are operating and offering a great service at a very accessible price.
Taking the anti-tetanus shot, thanks to that doctor and the nurses, was not difficult at all, but then I had to prepare myself for a bigger challenge: getting a stamp and signature for the international vaccination booklet issued to me by the Ministry of Health and Population years ago when, for travel purposes, I had to take the vaccine against yellow fever.
Because it works as a record also for other vaccinations, I was adamant I wanted the shot to be duly recorded on this booklet, but apparently this was not the work of the Emergency Department despite the fact that my doctor had tried to convince his superior twice.
I was told to go to the vaccination centre within the hospital's premise, but once there, no one was ready to sign and put a signature on the booklet. I did not know what to do until another doctor, totally out of her spontaneous initiative, helped me all the way and made it possible to get my anti-tetanus shot recorded.
Also in this case, I was surprised by her availability and sense of duty because she literally left her station to guide me and ensure that I could get what I needed.
It seems this doctor was as frustrated as me by the system, but she found the way and get the job done.
These two short episodes prove that in the health sector things can work quite well, but we also need people who take the initiative and are able to work round the system and get things done, especially when no one wants to take the responsibility.
A sense of duty and with it a sense of initiative are essential leadership elements. It is good to know that around the country, not only the big CEOs command them.
The truth is that there is no dearth of public servants always ready to serve the people of this country without glamour and fatty salaries.
Galimberti is the co-founder of ENGAGE, an NGO
A version of this article appears in the print on July 27, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.