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🇳🇵 Nepal /Disasters & Emergencies

Floods cut off healthcare access in Nepal’s Rasuwa and Nuwakot

From Kathmandu Post · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Ongoing story
  • Flooding in Nepal’s Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts has damaged roads and bridges, leaving many patients unable to reach better-equipped hospitals.
  • An eight-year-old boy with appendicitis waited two days for transport before a helicopter took him to Kathmandu, where doctors found that his appendix had ruptured.
  • Seriously ill patients now face lengthy journeys to Kathmandu, while others are staying home because local facilities cannot provide adequate treatment.

When eight-year-old Milan Raila developed severe abdominal pain after the Bhotekoshi floods, his family had few viable options. Their settlement in Kaindaletar, Rasuwa, had been washed away, and the family was staying with relatives.

They took Milan by motorbike to the primary health care centre in Jibjibe, about 20 kilometres away. Doctors there could not determine what was wrong and referred him to Rasuwa District Hospital in Dhunche. Tests showed that he had appendicitis, but the hospital’s mostly junior medical staff were reluctant to perform surgery because it lacked the equipment for major operations.

We rushed him to the primary health care centre at Jibjibe.

· Bishal RailaMilan Raila’s relative described the family’s first attempt to obtain medical care.

The family kept Milan at the hospital for two days because no ambulance was available to take him to Kathmandu. The access road had been reduced to a narrow, single-lane track after the August 26 flood swept away the main highway and bridges. With help from a ruling-party leader, the family eventually arranged a helicopter rescue.

We kept him at the hospital for two days because there was no ambulance available to take him to Kathmandu.

· Bishal RailaHe explained why Milan remained at the district hospital before the family arranged a helicopter.

At Kanti Children’s Hospital in Kathmandu, doctors found that Milan’s appendix had ruptured. He underwent surgery and was discharged on Sunday. Dr Amrit Prajapati, the Dhunche hospital’s medical superintendent, said the risk increases when patients with appendicitis take days to reach an appropriate facility. He said the hospital could not perform the operation under general anaesthesia, which was why it referred Milan to Kathmandu.

The floods have disrupted access for most patients in Rasuwa and many in Nuwakot. Before the disaster, residents of Kaindaletar could reach Trishuli District Hospital in about 10 minutes. They now need a helicopter to reach it, while seriously ill patients must travel for hours to Kathmandu. On Monday, 29-year-old Phurpuyamo Tamang of Gatlang and her newborn were airlifted.

The risk increases when it takes days for a patient with appendicitis to reach an appropriate facility for treatment.

· Dr Amrit PrajapatiThe Dhunche hospital superintendent described the medical danger created by damaged transport links.
About this summary

Originally published by Kathmandu Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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