Jhapa has highest number of health insured people

By Bishnu Prasad Pokhrel,Damak, June 9: There is always a queue of patients waiting for their turn at the Damak Hospital situated in Damak, Jhapa district. The majority of more than a thousand patients visiting the hospital daily are health insurance cardholders.

The latest data published in the dashboard of the Health Insurance Board (HIB) shows that Jhapa has the highest number of insurees, at 651,307, under the government's health insurance scheme.

Following Jhapa are Morang (482,115) and Sunsari (480,399). 

According to Clause 7 of the Health Insurance Board Regulation 2075, a patient needs to select a nearby health centre, with which it is registered to receive the service as their first point for check-up. If the first point cannot provide the necessary treatment, it must refer the patient to another health centre.

Despite being recognised as one of the developed districts of the country, several local levels in Jhapa lack a proper government health centre.

And, Damak Hospital is the first point for check-ups for locals of Damak Municipality, Shivasatakshi Municipality and Kamal Rural Municipality. Moreover, since it is the 'best' government hospital in the area, locals of Gauradaha Municipality as well as Ilam's Chulachuli Rural Municipality visit the Damak Hospital with a referral from their local health centres.

However, despite hundreds of patients visiting the hospital on a daily basis with the hope of proper treatment for free under the health insurance scheme, Damak Hospital lacks the resources, even the basic ones, to tend to the patients in an effective way.

"When I visit the pharmacy to procure medicines listed under the health insurance scheme, a majority of them are not available in the hospital's pharmacy, and we cannot get the medicines for free from private pharmacies," said Umakanta Rijal, a patient from Ward No. 6 of Kamal Rural Municipality who was visiting the hospital.

According to Rijal and other patients who were receiving treatment at the hospital, they did not receive all the services listed under the health insurance scheme.

When the information officer of the hospital Devi Dangal was asked about the lack of medicines in the hospital pharmacy, she suggested asking the officials in the administration section.

The administration section informed that they had not received some finished medicines from concerned authorities. Officials in the pharmacy informed that the stock of several medicines had gone empty in the past week.

Officials at Damak Municipality, the authority responsible for the management of Damak Hospital, informed that the stock of medicines emptied earlier due to the crowd of patients.

"Damak Hospital is tending to patients more than its capacity. We try to keep the medicines in stock, but it is difficult as the medicines in demand arrive late from higher authorities," said Nagendra Bhattarai, chief of the Health Section of Damak Municipality.

Bhattarai also informed that the municipality had decided to install air conditioners and fans in different parts of the hospital for the ease of patients and doctors.

Currently, visitors and patients can be seen sitting in congested queues in rooms and halls without a fan.

Patients also complained about the delay in services starting from ticketing. While doctors reach the hospital by 10:30 am, patients can be seen waiting from 7 am.

Minister for Health and Population Mohan Bahadur Basnet in a recent press conference said that the government hospitals and local levels had been directed to implement online ticketing system.

"The crowd in the hospital shows the need of upgrading it. The municipality does not have enough budget. We hope the higher governments will see the need someday," Bhattarai said.