Decrepit health post in Rapti-Sonari impacting service

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT 

Nepalgunj, Oct .1: Health workers of the health post in Banke Rapti-Sonari Rural Municipality- 9 have complained that they are facing problem in service delivery due to the lack of a proper building. They are facing problem due to the dilapidated state of the health post building. 

Lanka Bahadur Batala, chief at the health post, said that it is very difficult to provide services from a building with cracked walls and leaking tin roof. 

He complained that it was difficult for health workers to provide services as they had to provide from a decrepit building. According to Batala, there is a problem in providing treatment facility due to the lack of proper rooms.

Lilaraj Oli, a health worker of the health post, said that there is a lot of problem in the service delivery as the building is not as per the health standards of the government.

Both the service providers and seekers have been affected, said Oli. “When it rains, it leaks, affecting the service delivery,” said Oli. As the building is very old, there is a risk for both the patients and the health workers, he added.  Bhairam Oli, a local social worker, said that the building was built by the Indian construction company during the construction of East-West Highway in 2032 B.S. and has not been renovated since then.

Rimanta Sharma, senior ANM at the health post, said that the leaking rain water soaks the health materials and impacts the service.   According to Sharma, the walls of the building, built with wooden planks, were cracked and that has provided pathway for venomous creatures such as scorpions and snakes to enter there. 

Among the nine rooms in the building, a police post has been placed in 3 rooms, while health posts are operating from the remaining 6 rooms. According to health workers, rooms allocated for stores, laboratories, OPD registration, patient examination and dressing rooms are too small. 

Meanwhile, Sohan Lal Tharu, ward chair of the rural municipality, said that the rural municipality has provided Rs.10 million for the constriction of health post in the current fiscal year.