Damphu hospital in Tsirang has had no water supply for about three months now. Patients have not been able to clean or bath for days. The only water supplies they have are brought in bottles and jerry cans by those attending them. The toilets are clogged and have started emanating foul stench creating an unhygienic environment. Even the wards have started smelling.
“The floors of the ward are never mopped and there are flies everywhere,” said one of the patients.
The hospital’s laboratory is the worst hit. The lab technician, Yangzom, said they give preference to patients who come from far off places. “For those who live nearby, we tell them to come visit us when we have water available. They get angry and scold us sometimes,” said Yangzom.
The hospital has a water tank but no water was reserved for such emergency. A senior medical officer, Dr. Tejnath Sharma, said hand washing is important method to prevent infections. “It is number one practice that we need to follow as part of infection control. But because of shortage of water we are not able to wash our hands and are using hand gloves as substitute.” However he said there is no substitute for hand washing in infection control.
The district municipal is aware of the problem. According to the municipal’s junior engineer, Tek Bahadur Gurung, the water source completely dried up due to less rainfall this year. “To solve the shortage of water in the hospital, we have started Pow khola project,” he said. The project will be complete by next week and it is expected to solve the water shortage.
