All-female staff at health post in Baglung draws praise
Service seekers, mostly men, are not used to seeing an all-female staff manning a health post. But for female patients, the health post is a welcome change, health workers say.
The Nisikhola village municipality of Baglung is going to conduct health check-up of senior citizens, disabled and pregnant women in the municipality every month.
KATHMANDU, Jan 22: At least 268 health workers and doctors have been infected with COVID-19 in Gandaki Province in a period of three weeks, according to the Provincial Health Directorate.
Pokhara, the provincial capital, has most of the infection cases, said Nawaraj Sharma, coordinator of the provincial health emergency work operations centre under the Directorate.
“The number of health workers on the frontline against the infection contracting the virus has been increasing. Most of the infected are from Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences, infectious and communicable disease hospital and Beni Hospital,” he said.
The infected health workers include 138 (Kaski), 42 (Tanahun), 20 (Lamjung), 17 (Nawalparasi), 12 (Syangja), 11 (Baglung), 10 (Parbat), nine (Myagdi), six (Gorkha) and three (Mustang).
All the infected have been in home isolation and their health is normal, said the Directorate.
Service seekers, mostly men, are not used to seeing an all-female staff manning a health post. But for female patients, the health post is a welcome change, health workers say.
Lalita Gotame, a resident of Ward No. 4, in Dhorpatan Municipality, in Baglung district, recently birthed her third child. She gave birth to her first child in India and the other two in Khunga, a village in the ward.
Lalita had no access to any health check-up facility when she conceived for the second time. To make the matter worse, she was forced to give birth to her second child in a shed at the Thulogar area of Khunga, because giving birth at home is seen as a bad omen according to the deeply-held superstitious beliefs.
BAGLUNG, June 25: The Press Organization Nepal, Baglung chapter has provided health materials to active journalists here today.
The organization provided health safety stuffs including facial masks, sanitizer and emergency medicines including Cetamol.
The chapter coordinator Thamman Thapa led team reached the media houses and provided the materials to them. Thapa added that they provided these stuffs to the media persons of five radios, one weekly paper, and three online portals.
He further shared that they were planning to provide such safety materials to all working journalists in the district.
BAGLUNG, May 16: Four members of a family died of COVID-19, which reportedly spread following a marriage function held in the family. The marriage function followed by a feast held in Badigad Rural Municipality-4 showed a total of 25 people were infected when 31 attending the function underwent the PCR tests.
The head of the household, where the marriage was held, died. A week later the man's two sons also succumbed to the disease. The man was 86-year-old while his sons were 52-year-old and 40-year-old. Another 53-year-old of the same family also died.
Majority of the infected were found to have attended functions where large gatherings were formed and people also did not follow the health protocol, said health division coordinator of the rural municipality, Chudamani Kandel.
The district is currently under the prohibitory orders imposed by the district administration after the rapid spike in coronavirus infections. "Despite our repeated appeal to follow the health protocol, the citizens ignored and were negligent leading to the present situation," said Chief District Officer (CDO) of Baglung district, Shiva Kumar Karki.
The number of active cases of COVID-19 in the district has reached 747 while 23 people have already died. Just a week ago, the number of active cases was around 100 only.
GALKOT, May 13: A 65-year-old COVID-19 patient of Baglung Municipality-1 was in home isolation after he tested positive for the virus. Also a diabetes and high-blood pressure patient, he was too scared in the early days after the infection.
However, given the health care and psycho-social counseling services at his home for free, he not only easily defeated the virus but also received more excitements and energy. He is now fully recovered.
At present, six other infected persons in Baglung bazaar have been receiving free health care and counseling services at their homes from the volunteer nurses.
Nitu Khadka of Baglung Municipality-1, a health worker who is active in health care and social activities for long, has been providing treatment and counseling services to the COVID-19 patients.
Khadka said that she has been providing free health care to the infected ones by realizing the social responsibility after the surge in the number of infected patients after the second wave of coronavirus,
“As a health worker, I started a campaign in Facebook since May 4 planning to extend services. I have been receiving phone calls then. Now, I am treating them by visiting their doorsteps. Three of the infected defeated the virus and three others are in home isolation,” she added.
She even provides counseling services to the patients on phone calls if she could not visit the places.
As a prohibitory order is enforced in Baglung since May 4, most of the patients in the district are in home isolation.
Khadka claims that her initiative is to encourage the patients by providing them basic medical supplies and counseling to defeat the virus.
She is also providing counseling services to a patient in Bhaktapur.
In such a time, counseling is equally important besides medical treatment, she shared.
As she launched her initiative through Facebook, she has also received PPE and other health materials to treat the patients.
Khadka, also a senior nurse, is the chairperson of Wellness Group Nepal and is involved in Rotaract Club of Baglung and other social organisations.
