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It may sound surprising to hear that a district hospital is operating with just four staff members. However, the Mustang District Hospital, located in Jomsom, the headquarters of Mustang district, is currently functioning with only four staff members. Although the hospital has an approved establishment of 18 staff members for its 15 beds, only these four are currently working there.

Muktinath, Damodar Kund, Upper Mustang’s Lomantang, and Korala attract a large number of internal and external tourists, yet the Mustang District Hospital is currently operating with only four staff members. The hospital, which has an approved establishment of 18 staff members, currently has only two doctors, including a medical superintendent, one radiology officer, and one staff nurse, as reported by Maya Gurung, the chairperson of Mustang Hospital and chief of the District Coordination Committee, Mustang.

The hospital has positions for fifth and sixth-level officials in the administration, but those positions are currently vacant. Similarly, there are vacancies for one staff nurse, three nursing supervisors, two auxiliary nurses, one lab technician, and six office assistants. The acting medical superintendent, Dr. Tejas Nepal, stated that the absence of staff in these approved positions creates significant challenges in providing services at the hospital. He mentioned that while efforts have been made to hire some temporary staff to provide services, the lack of personnel in the approved positions continues to pose problems.

Due to the cold, many patients are suffering, and tourists coming for visits are also falling ill. Additionally, with the air and road routes being difficult, patients are facing hardships, complained Amrit Suvedi, the operator of Jomsom Pride Hotel.

According to him, during the tourist season, around 4,000 to 5,000 tourists enter Mustang daily, which also increases the number of patients, leading to issues at the hospital due to the lack of staff and healthcare workers.

 

Amrit Prasad Paudel