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🇳🇵 Nepal /Health & Science

Nepal's health worker shortage fuels doctor-patient conflict

From Kathmandu Post · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Nepal's healthcare system faces a severe shortage of health workers, particularly doctors at primary care centers.
  • This chronic understaffing forces lone physicians to provide round-the-clock care, leading to burnout and strained doctor-patient relations.
  • The Nepal Medical Association is urging doctors to boycott services after an assault on a colleague, highlighting the growing conflict fueled by government inaction.

A doctor in Dolpa district, the sole physician at a primary health care center, faced a difficult choice: join a protest against the assault of a colleague or continue providing essential services to patients. Dr. Bishwa Raj Dawadi, general secretary of the Nepal Medical Association, recounted the dilemma, emphasizing the moral responsibility doctors feel towards their patients.

I could not ask him to stop providing services in support of the association's protest against the assault on fellow doctors. As human beings, we also have a moral responsibility towards our patients. If we continue the protest in its most extreme form by boycotting services, it could lead to unfortunate consequences.

— Dr Bishwa Raj DawadiGeneral secretary of the Nepal Medical Association, explaining the dilemma faced by a lone doctor in Dolpa district.

The association had called for a boycott of services after a doctor was assaulted in Birgunj. However, the Dolpa doctor's predicament highlights the impossible situation faced by many in Nepal's understaffed healthcare system. These primary care centers often have only one doctor responsible for all services, working under immense pressure.

Dr. Sanjeev Tiwari, senior vice president of the association, stated that the government's failure to recruit sufficient health workers is the root cause of the escalating conflict. He warned that this situation is turning doctors and patients into "sworn enemies," detrimental to society.

The problem is not with patients, and patients should not have problems with doctors either. The government’s failure to recruit enough health workers is the root cause of the growing conflict between doctors and patients. It is turning them into sworn enemies, which is not good for society.

— Dr Sanjeev TiwariSenior vice president of the Nepal Medical Association, attributing the conflict to government inaction.

Doctors describe a reality where they are expected to be available at all hours, even when ill or facing personal emergencies. When they take leave due to exhaustion, the government rarely sends replacements, leaving patients without care and increasing the likelihood of aggression from desperate relatives. The recent assault on Dr. Pramod Ram at Narayani Hospital, following a patient's death, underscores the dangerous friction fueled by these systemic failures.

Like many other doctors, I also worked under the same circumstances. Whenever I felt exhausted or burned out, I would take leave and go home to rest.

— Dr Bishwa Raj DawadiRecounting his past experiences working in understaffed conditions.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Kathmandu Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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