As told by Dr. Jhapat Bahadur Thapa, MBBS
Five days after opening the Nyaya Health clinic, a bus rolled down the hill along the winding road near Sirikot, about one hour from the clinic. A jeep rescued the ten wounded patients and brought them to the clinic. Most of the people on the bus were from this area and had been participating in a wedding ceremony. The bride had just been sent to the groom’s house and the rest of the people were being taken home, back into Sanfe.
The night watchman called on staff at the staff quarters, and they all went down to the clinic: Uday, Dr. Thapa, Santosh, Tenzing, and the on-duty nurse midwife. The team performed triage; those who were less seriously injured were seen at the end, and they concentrated on the most serious cases. No blood transfusions were required for any of the patients. There were also no broken bones. All were minor injuries except for the one with the head injury. The team sutured the lacerations of each of the patients. One person had a large cut in the leg but suffered no bone injury.
The owner of the bus had a large open wound on his head. Dr. Thapa and staff sutured the wound and then sent referred the patient to Lucknow, India, about 20 to 24 hours from the clinic for evaluation of intracranial trauma. He spent about 10 days in Lucknow, and ultimately survived. It cost the man roughly 5,000 Rs for the CT scan and roughly 20,000 Rs for travel and hospital accommodations.
Traffic accidents are common in the hills, as the roads are windy, narrow, and poorly maintained. Although these accidents are less common in this area (due to minimal traffic), the injuries are often severe.
Uday ji, our health assistant, examining a patient