Earthquake: Terrified Nepal patients refuse treatment inside hospitals

KATHMANDU: People injured in the deadly earthquake in Nepal are now so traumatised with fear that they prefer receiving treatment in tents rather than inside hospitals after several buildings collapsed burying hundreds of victims.

Kedar Prasad Srivastav, 75, is to be operated upon for an abdomen surgery, but he prefers to get treated in the open ground outside the Kathmandu Medical College (KMC) for fear of tremors and aftershocks after Saturday's quake that devastated the Himalayan nation, killing over 4,300 people with more than 8,000 others injured.

When he felt the tremors, Srivastav got himself shifted outside. The fear of the quake is such that he prefers getting treated in the open ground, amid rain, cold and mosquitoes.

"We have been asking patients to shift indoors, but they simply refuse because of the fear of the quake," said Dr Sajipta Panth, a gynaecologist at the KMC.

Initially, even the doctors were fearing to operate on patients inside the buildings.

"What do we do? If we have to treat the patients then even we have to stay safe. For the first two days we operated patients inside the hospital. Now, we have a makeshift mobile operation theatre erected in the open ground of the Nepal Armed Police Force," said Dr Manoj Shah, another gynaecologist at KMC.

Meanwhile, medical help has started pouring in with teams of doctors arriving from different parts of the world.

India has set up three mobile hospitals at Lagan Khel, some 17 kms from the capital and Seni Mangal.

"We have despatched teams at Barpak and Sindupalchowk (the two most affected districts)," said Col R K Yadava of the Indian Army Medical Corps who also also have paratroopers with them.

"So, just in case if we are asked to go into the interiors then we can be para trooped. Our team is well equipped and can even erect a mobile operation theatre in case of an emergency," said Major Abid Aman.