Importance of Anesthesia Assistants in Rural Hospitals
Cesarean delivery halted in several hospitals of remote districtsThe civil staff adjustment process has led to the transfer of anesthetic assistants who are crucial to C-section deliveries.The civil servant adjustment process is affecting hospital services in a manner unforeseen. With the departure of its only anesthetic assistant, Suresh Thapa, to Province 5, the Bhojpur district hospital has halted all cesarean section deliveries indefinitely.“We had requested the concerned ministry of the provincial government and the Ministry of Health and Population to not transfer our anesthetic assistant,” Rajendra Prasad Raut, spokesperson of the hospital told the Post over the phone from Bhojpur. “No one paid heed to our concerns and we were compelled to halt the services.”District hospitals like the Bhojpur hospital do not perform large surgeries since they do not have adequate equipment or personnel. The only real surgery that they perform are cesarean sections with the help of an anaesthetic assistant.With Thapa gone, doctors and health workers at Bhojpur district hospital have asked pregnant women with complications to not rely on the district hospital. It takes over 9 hours to reach Dharan and Biratnagar, where the nearest large hospitals are located, from Bhojpur in an ambulance.The hospital administration has also informed all concerned agencies including the Provincial government, the federal government and local levels about its decision and also warned that it would not be responsible if anything ha...