A majority of patients, who thronged health camps conducted by Nobel Medical Hospital of Biratnagar in Bhojpur, Terhathum and Dhankuta districts were found to have been suffering from various diseases caused by alcohol and tobacco. [break]
Most of them had long been suffering from asthma and liver ailments. “Apart from medicines, local villagers need to be aware of the risks of alcohol and tobacco,” said Dr Ajit Agrawal.
In Yangpang of Bhojpur district alone, of the total 3,150 patients who flocked to the health camp from different 13 villages, 1,100 villagers were found to have been suffering from asthma.
“As the northern part of Bhojpur district -- where most of local villagers came from to attend our camp -- is always cold, people consume alcohol and tobacco to warm up their bodies,” Dr Agrawal said, adding, “This has caused several harmful diseases.”
According to Sunil Sharma, managing director of the hospital, travel fares were provided to those villagers who needed to go to Biratnagar for further treatment. According to him, apart from tobacco and alcohol related diseases, villagers with hernia and uterine prolepses, among others, also turned up.
According to Eastern Regional Health Directorate in Dhankuta, nine out of 17 posts of medical superintendents in various district hospitals are lying vacant.
A total of 685 health staffers, ranging from medical superintendents to maternal and child health workers, are required to make up for the shortage. Occasional health camps are the only hope for rural folks who have no access to health services.
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