The District Hospital of Mugu and several other health facilities in the district are reeling under shortage of essential medicines.

Many health facilities in the district are without medicines at a time when cases of fever, diarrhoea, dysentery and flu are increasing.

Hasta Nepali of Chhayanathrara Municipality-11 said when he took his parents to the District Hospital recently, many of the medicines prescribed by the doctor were not available at the hospital dispensary.

“What is the point of visiting a hospital when you do not get medicines there? Medicine shortage is a recurrent problem of government-run health facilities in Mugu,” said Nepali. The District Hospital has been advising its patients to buy medicines at private dispensaries these days.

Around 150 people visit the hospital daily.

“We have limited supply of medicines which are only provided to seriously ill patients. Other patients are getting their prescriptions from private dispensaries,” said Dr Dabal Bahadur Malla.

Keshlal Budha, senior auxiliary health worker at the hospital, said failure on the part of the District Health Office (DHO) to buy the medicines in time had triggered the shortage.  

 “There could be a serious crisis if there is an outbreak of disease in the district,” he said.

Gyaneshwor Shrestha, the DHO chief, said a tender had been invited to purchase essential medicines worth Rs 1 million. “For the time being we have also urged the Regional Medical Store to supply the medicines,” he said.