Tamang, who lives in a rented room in the capital, had gone to the clinic to fetch medicine for her 20 months old son Abhaya, who had kept her awake the whole night due to pain in his ear. However, the health workers at the clinic asked her to buy the medicines from some pharmacy.
Tamang, a mother of two, informed that her husband was a construction labor and the last contractor who hired him had fled without giving him wages.Like Tamang, hundreds of patients, who reach urban health clinics everyday for free essential drugs, are compelled to return empty handed, as the health department of KMC has not supplied the medicines since the beginning of the ongoing fiscal year.
"People think there are hundreds of health facilities in the capital and that no one is deprived of the health care services, which is simply not true," said Hari Prasad Lamsal, chief of KMC's clinic at the ward. He said that thousands of people who work as construction labor or belong to a family with weak economic background are deprived of basic health care services even in the capital.
In order to ease the plight of people who cannot afford to buy medicines or do not have access to basic health care facility, the metropolis has been running urban health clinics at several of its wards. Out of its 35 wards, the metropolis has been operating urban health clinics at 27 wards, where services are provided free of cost.
The KMC, however, has not supplied medicines since the beginning of the ongoing fiscal year. Lamsal said that health workers serving at such clinics are forced to turn back ailing people in lack of medicines."
Rajya Prakash Pradhananga, KMC's health chief, himself admitted that urban health clinics run by metropolis does not even have cetamol to provide to the ailing patients. "We even do not have cetamol and painkillers to provide to the ailing patients," added Pradhananga.
According to Pradhananga, the District Public Health Office (DPHO) has not been supplying the essential medicines and the metropolis has not purchased the medicines either.
"We have allocated budget for the medicines to distribute free of cost but we have not yet started the procurement process. The clinic even lacks seven common medicines like Paracetamol and oral rehydration solution (ORS) and painkillers," concedes he.
"We are compelled to turn patients away who come here seeking free services," said Pradhananga, adding that patients stopped to visit urban health clinics after they failed to provide medicines.
Several studies conducted by the MoHP in the past reveal that coverage of health programs in the municipalities is very poor compared to VDCs of remote districts.
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