Cancer at Cancer Hospital

If the late B P Koirala, who championed democracy and the multiparty system till his dying breath, were alive today, he would perhaps be ashamed to the core at seeing what the political parties have done to a cancer hospital in Bharatpur named after him. The B P Koirala Cancer Hospital has remained shut for the last two days after conflict among doctors and other hospital staff aligned to the three major parties—UCPN (Maoist), NC and UML— reached a climax.



So much so that the hospital has closed even basic services such as radiology, anesthetics, pathology and physiotherapy, and starting today, it has stopped administering chemotherapy, a crucial treatment for cancer patients. As the patients at the hospital were denied treatment they came out of their cabins Thursday and protested. But even this failed to awaken the conscience of the hospital’s medical and other staff. Shame on them all!



But more than any of them, the leaders of the major political parties, who have stoked this conflict and are largely responsible for the mess the hospital is in today, should feel ashamed. The conflict in the hospital is mainly about which party gets to appoint a man close to itself as executive director. Why is it so important for the parties to appoint their own man as executive director? Well, the answer is simple: To control the hospital resources so that they can get a share of it. The hospital has remained in turmoil ever since Dr Bhakta Man Shrestha’s term as executive director ended last September.



Though the Maoists wanted to reappoint him, the hospital management committee, which was reshuffled by then health minister and NC leader Umakanta Choudhary, appointed Laxmi Narayan Singh as the executive director. With the change of government, the Maoists have once again reshuffled the management committee so that they can remove Singh and reappoint Shrestha in his place. The divisions and conflict among the medical and other staff at the hospital has now become a cancer in itself.



This cancer should be removed without further delay so that we can safeguard the sanctity of the hospital and the patients can be reassured of a continuous service. The political parties must stop meddling in the educational and health sectors, both of which remain marred by political interference. Leaders and staff at hospitals and schools should be chosen strictly on merit basis and not for their political allegiance or leaning.



And, finally, we also have a piece of advice to the doctors and other staff at the hospital: Their only responsibility is to their patients and harboring any political allegiance and letting it influence the service they render is to compromise their personal and professional integrity.

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