- Ashok Poudel
Nepal has so many health issues and challenges which need to be addressed as soon as possible to correct the health system in Nepal. The challenges and necessities for changing the healthcare system in Nepal are apparently noticeable. Yet, rural and remote areas are out of reach from health facilities. Still, people are dying due to lack of healthcare facilities like hospitals, healthcare workers, equipment and so on. Lack of opportunities healthcare workers denies working in remote areas which are a critical national health issue of our country. For better opportunities, many medical graduates like GPs, Nurses, Pharmacists, and Lab technologists are going to foreign countries every year.
There are some students who are graduating in medical courses just to go abroad. Rests are contributing to Nepal but are compelled to work in low wages with stress. In this pandemic also they are performing their duties risking their own health but the sad thing is the government is not serious in safety issues for front-line health workers. They are compelled to work without PPE which is a really saddening and embarrassing thing. Also recently a Doctor was blamed for disseminating unnecessary information to the public by the Department of the Ministry of Health. However, Doctor was doing best from his own level. These kinds of sad news can lead to disaster in the health field as there will be chances of losing the workforce in the healthcare industry due to stress, insecurities, and opportunities.
I am a student doing Masters in Healthcare Management in Australia and I feel that if this kind of ignorance is continued from the Government side then I am sure there will be a lack of human capital in the healthcare sector in the future. I personally believe that there are so many graduate nurses who came here in Australia for better opportunities and still many nurses are coming here. This shows that there will be scarcity in the workforce in Healthcare in Nepal.
As health is an important sustainable element if there is health there will be a strong economy. This can also be proved from the evidence of COVID 19. Therefore, to correct the healthcare system government should focus to improve and manage the health sector. The government should motivate and retain the healthcare workers in order to minimize the scarcity in the future by providing benefits to them like increment in wages, insurance, and other facilities. The Government should utilize Skill forces in all areas of the country including rural and remote areas. Moreover, the government should value every health worker as a strong contributor to the country. Therefore, the government should be serious about improving the healthcare system in Nepal for sustainability.