If someone is seriously ill, there is no option but to rescue them by helicopter, but locals complain that the process of obtaining permission for that is also slow.
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Dabaputi Gurung, 59, of Dolpobuddha Rural Municipality-3, was hospitalized after experiencing heart problems. Local health workers advised her to be taken to a hospital outside the district immediately. Pamba Gyaljung Lama, 49, of Shey-Phoksundo Rural Municipality-8, Kalang, also had to be taken to the hospital for immediate treatment of both her legs, which were frozen.
The relatives requested the Dolpobuddha Rural Municipality to take the initiative for a helicopter rescue. The rural municipality wrote a letter to Simrik Air on 2 Mangsir requesting assistance in the rescue of the two people. At present, Simrik Air's helicopter has been transporting solar mini-grade materials that are being made using alternative energy in Shey-Phoksundo Rural Municipality for a few days.
Simrik Air wrote a letter to the District Administration Office, Dolpa, late for permission. According to Chief District Officer Bhimraj Koirala, a letter was sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs for permission as soon as Simrik Air's letter was received. Permission for the flight was received in some time. It was already 4 o'clock when this process was completed. There is a rule of the Civil Aviation Authority that helicopter flights are not allowed after 5 pm. Therefore, the patient was taken by helicopter only to Jufal Airport that day.
Even when we reached Jufal, we had to pay Rs 252,000 for the helicopter. ‘We had asked Summit Air for a ticket two days ago because we were worried. But they refused to take the patient, saying they did not have a ticket,’ said Kyalpo Thapa Bhote of Dolpobuddha Rural Municipality. ‘One of the patients is a complex patient, and we did not even get a ticket two days ago.’
After not getting a ticket that day, the patient was flown to Nepalgunj on a Sita Air plane the next day, paying a higher fare than the regular fare. ‘The Dolpa-Nepalgunj fare is only around Rs 7,000, but that day they charged Rs 3,000 more,’ said Bhote.
Even though the district has been connected to the national road network for more than seven years, the road has not reached Upper Dolpa. The residents of Upper Dolpa have to walk for four to five days to reach the district headquarters. Residents of Upper Dolpa complain that there are many problems when pregnant women, postpartum women and other complex patients have to be rescued immediately.
The Upper Dolpa region includes Dolpobuddha, She-Phoksundo and Charkatangsong rural municipalities. There are health posts and clinics in that area, but no hospital. In geographically remote Upper Dolpa, there is no alternative to a helicopter when it comes to rescuing critically ill patients. ‘First of all, having to pay lakhs to hire a helicopter, and then waiting for permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs, takes a lot of time,’ said Bhote. ‘It would have been faster if there was a system where only permission from the local government or local administration was required to rescue patients in such a place.’
It costs the residents of Upper Dolpa about one million to hire a helicopter from Kathmandu. Locals say that if they have to go to the hospital by helicopter in critical condition, their assets would not be enough. ‘It takes a week to reach the district headquarters with a patient. There is a risk of death for a seriously ill patient on the way,’ said Pemma Chhewang Gurung of Dolpobuddha, ‘There is no alternative to calling a helicopter even after taking a loan.’
The government has been rescuing pregnant and postpartum women by helicopter under the President’s Women Upliftment Program. Locals have urged the government to arrange free helicopters for emergency rescue of patients other than pregnant and postpartum patients.
