Posted by Ryan Schwarz
Recently, Nyaya’s staff at Bayalpata Hospital received a 7 year-old boy who had fallen and sustained significant head injuries. There was concern that he had fractured his skull and had increased pressure inside his skull cavity – a life-threatening condition. He was immediately transferred to Seti Zonal Hospital in Nyaya’s ambulance – a hospital with greater resources than Bayalpata, and approximately 10 hours away by road. 4 days later the boy returned for follow-up at Bayalpata and was sent home in good health after having been evaluated in Dhangadi.
To many of us who work in developed world settings, this seems like a very normal and every-day occurrence. But until recently, there were no ambulance services available in the region where Nyaya works. Previously, patients had to pay high prices out-of-pocket for private jeeps or other vehicles to transport them in emergency situations. Due to a generous donation program run by the Indian Embassy, Nyaya has been able to
Ambulance donated to Nyaya Health by the Indian Embassy
operate its own ambulance program since this winter – while it is difficult to quantify, it has already saved the lives of innumerable patients and afforded Bayalpata Hospital access to better resources through other hospitals throughout the region.
But in rural settings like Achham, it is rare that successes come without parallel challenges. The ambulance has been an enormous help in a region so isolated, ensuring our hospital staff have access to refer patients too ill for care at Bayalpata to other facilities more ably equipped. But keeping the ambulance operating has been a significant challenge due to the rugged conditions of the Achham region.
Passengers trying to push a jeep on a road that connects Achham to the rest of Nepal and India
Until May of 2010, there was no paved road to our hospital, and today, while Nyaya is lucky to have a road to its Hospital, the majority of the region is still without access to roads and transportation. Road travel is very difficult and results in regular damage to our ambulance – in the past 6 months alone the ambulance has required significant repairs no less than 5 times due to dangerous roads, monsoon rains and landslides, and rivers that it isfrequently forced to cross. Last week our ambulance lost 3 tires forging a river; 3 weeks ago it got stuck in another river and required 50 local policemen and a tractor to pull it out, not to mention several hundred US dollars in repairs.
These “challenges” however have reaped great benefits for Nyaya’s patients – like the 7 year old boy now healthy after a life-threatening injury. While such “challenges” will likely be present in regions such as Achham for quite some time, it is these same challenges that Nyaya is committed to fighting.
