A sad reality in Nepal is that some doctors are more inclined towards profit making. This is evident in Lumbini Hospital where all the doctors have reportedly spent their time working in nursing homes absent from their duties. It is the same case in Seti Hospital where many poor Nepalis wait for doctors to treat them. In Dhangadi's Seti Hospital, only seven out of 19 doctors are available while the rest are busy serving the elite. Our health system is growing poorer due to cases such as these where doctors are not available when they are most needed.
Doctors are unwilling to serve in remote areas. After all, more money can be made in the cities. There are many vacant posts for doctors in rural-based hospitals but few apply. The situation has grown so desperate that in some hospitals, peons fill in for doctors. Even in the cities, the state run hospitals are in bad shape. Many of these doctors do not treat their patients well in government hospitals, forcing them to go to private clinics. The poor cannot afford these treatments. They are made to pay for medicines that are available for free in government hospitals and health centres. There is always a code of ethics for every profession and it is the state's responsibility to ensure that the code is not violated. Citizens cannot depend on the government alone to speak for them but must also bear their responsibility and raise their voices against unethical professionals. Perhaps the best way to have doctors applying in rural areas is by providing them with more attractive allowances and other benefits than those based in the cities.