Lomanthang Basic Hospital remains unused

by Hari Krishna Sharma,Mustang, Apr.  26: Even a year after its construction was completed, a five-bed basic hospital in Lomanthang, Ward No. 5 of Lomanthang Rural Municipality in Upper Mustang remains unused due to a lack of staff and medical equipment. 

The federal government had built the earthquake-resistant and disability-friendly facility with the goal of establishing basic-level hospitals in every municipality. However, a shortage of operational funding has prevented the hospital from coming into operation. 

According to Bikash KC, Chief Administrative Officer of Lomanthang Rural Municipality, the two-and-a-half-story building includes 27 rooms, featuring an emergency room, X-ray room, inpatient, maternity wards, outpatient, laboratory facilities, administrative offices, a pharmacy store, and separate quarters for doctors and health workers.

“We are working to secure both medical staff and necessary equipment,” said KC. “Unfortunately, there is no operational budget available at the local level.”

 He added that once the hospital becomes operational, it will also benefit tourists who fall ill while visiting the upper Mustang region.

The hospital was constructed under a contract signed with Danfehari Sant JV Mustang in the fiscal year 2021/22 at a cost of Rs. 71.9 million.

During winter, poor and elderly residents of Lomanthang face serious difficulties in accessing medical treatment. Aside from basic care, most patients are forced to travel to the provincial hospital in Jomsom, the district headquarters.

Tasinarbu Gurung, Chairman of Lomanthang Rural Municipality, said that although efforts have been made to furnish the hospital with modern medical tools by approaching the provincial and federal governments, it has yet to receive a response."

Over the past two years, 28 tourists both domestic and foreign have died in Mustang due to serious health complications. Many of them were unable to receive timely treatment while visiting the region by road or air, particularly during the winter and spring seasons.