Make a Difference to Healthcare in Rural Nepal

Namaste!

We are pleased to report that Dr lalit continues to work hard at his postgraduate studies in Cairo, although he is still finding communication extremely difficult. 

"All communication in the hospital is in Arabic, so it's hard for me to always understand what is being discussed!  I am learning a bit of Arabic now and can understand a lot more" Dr Lalit

Lalit is working very long shifts in the hospital, sometimes as long a 30 hours with no rest.  We asked him what he does on his day off: "I buy ingredients, cook, eat the food then sleep.  I have no time to do anything else but I am happy as I need to eat and sleep a lot!" Dr Lalit

Meanwhile, Dr Nahakul is still working in his remote hospital in Manma, Kalikot District, where he has recently had to deal with a case of interlocking twins.  A pregnant lady came to the hospital, carried in a basket by her family, after a 2 day walk; she was 33 weeks pregnant.  Unlike in the West, she had not had a scan, so was completely unaware that she might be carrying twins.  Dr Lalit was the first person to scan the lady.  He noticed that the baby had two heads but only one heart and other organs. 

"I was the only doctor in the hospital at the time and I had never seen interlocking twins before.  When my colleague came on duty, we had to decide what to do with the pregnant lady and the babies.  I managed to stem the lady's bleeding and because we only have very limited equipment in our hospital, I recommended that the she transfer to a bigger hospital in the valley.  I arranged a helicopter to take the lady to the valley hospital, where she will stay until the doctors decide what to do. Unfortunately, the most likely outcome is that they will have to allow one baby to die to save the other one." Dr Nahakul

Our doctors would like to thank all our very generous donors who are enabling them to continue with their studies in Lalit's case, and for Nahakul to continue to carry out the life-saving work he is doing in the remote village where he grew up.

"The villagers remember me as the fun-loving little boy running around playing with a sock ball, and now I am their doctor.  They are very happy to be treated by me as I really understand all their needs and can communicate with them on a different level to a doctor who does not come from my village.  I would like to thank all the donors who have helped me to continue my work as a doctor.  I promise to work very hard and would like to spend the rest of my life practicing medecine in my remote village.  Thank you from my heart!"  Dr Nahakul

Links:

• Doctors For Nepal website

Namaste,

Lalit is now fully immersed in his postgraduate studies in Cairo, Egypt, thanks to your generous donations. He has settled in extremely well despite finding the language very difficult. Lalit’s native tongue is Nepalese but he has done all his medical studies in Nepal in English.  Lalit says: “Now I’m in Cairo I need to understand Arabic. None of the patients or nurses understand English very well. It is hard for me but I’m trying. I have started a residency in Obstetrics and Gynaecology – my passion – any difficulties I have are gone when I’m doing my job, I love it! Thank you to all donors, I am truly grateful for this opportunity to do postgraduate study. I will be a better doctor when I'm back in Nepal “.

Our other two qualified doctors, Meena and Nahakul, are working hard as doctors in their remote villages in Jumla and Kalicot Districts in Nepal. A group of British medical students have just returned from their medical elective, which we arranged for them at Nahakul’s remote hospital in Manma. All 5 British students were astonished to learn that for two months Nahakul was the only doctor at Manma, despite being only 2 years on from qualification! One of the UK medical students, Steph Mulhern says:

“Here the doctors would deal with everything from obstetrics to paediatrics, geriatrics to orthopaedics. The doctors would send their patients off for the limited tests available, always thinking carefully about the bare minimum the patient needed so the patient would not have to spend any more money than they needed to, a crucial skill when most patients are subsistence farmers. Tests available included some very basic blood tests, an X-ray that made bad quality films, and an ultrasound scanner. Anything else required the patient to be transferred to the nearest big hospital, 5 hours on an incredibly bumpy road in a busy, hot bus. Experiencing health care in rural Nepal was an incredibly interesting experience. In the UK we have a plethora of investigations and seniors and other specialist teams always close by. In Kalikot the doctors had to use clinical judgement in an incredibly impressive way. The doctors were fairly fresh out of medical school but their range of knowledge and skills was extremely impressive. Dr Nahakul was one of the warmest, friendliest, happiest people we have ever met and we thoroughly enjoyed spending time with him.” 

Meanwhile, all our 7 Nepali medical students are hard at work with their studies in Kathmandu. Dhanendra, 2nd year student, finished his second residential Health Post placement in Makwanpur district in June.  He was tasked with carrying out community-based learning and education at a health-post, where he assessed the overall health services on offer to patients.  He collected data regarding the limited facilities available, and also found out more about the day-to-day challenges his patients face.  He concluded that the health post was playing a vital role in maintaining the rural community’s health.  It’s interesting to note that despite Dhanendra also coming from a rural community, his village is in the far-west of Nepal, he has experienced a big difference in the culture and food habits of the people living in Makwanpur district. He has leant many new communication skills, which have enabled him to communicate better with his patients, but above all he’s gained more experience in being totally self-motivated in a difficult environment.

All our doctors, medical students and nursing students continue to be grateful for your generous support towards our ultimate aim of helping to improve healthcare in rural Nepal.  Thank you from them, and all at Doctors for Nepal.