The people of remote Phoksinghkot village in Palpa rarely visit their local health post. It is not because they do not want to, it is because they find the health facility unreliable and unsanitary. 

Phoksinghkot Health Post is failing on most fronts, from inadequate staff to lack of medicines, non-functioning equipment to the state of utter squalor and mess the facility has fallen into over the years. 

“Everything at Phoksinghkot Health Post is either out of order or lacking. You can’t even get paracetamol tablets there,” said Hira Saru, a local man.

Most people from the village prefer going to Tanhu, Tansen and Khok Khola for medical help, even if that mean walking for several hours.

Bhowisara Saru, of Ranibas settlement, complained that there were several vacant positions at the health post that had not been filled in a long time. 

“We know the health post is not doing well infrastructure wise. But if the concerned authorities only filled the staff vacancies, maybe more people would visit,” he said.  

Auxiliary Health Worker Kapil Bahadur Rana admitted to all the shortcomings and the state of dereliction afflicting the health post. 

He said that their repeated requests to fill the vacancies and replace the broken medical equipment were not heeded by the District Health Office.

“Even the blood pressure monitor and the weighing scale is broken, such is our plight,” he said.