Book Cover Photo

Nature Therapy-sleeping on the grass under the sun!!!

We have an emergency

Thursday 8 May 2008-The Kathmandu Post

The Kathmandu Post

BY MOHEINDU CHEMJONG

Picture a very recent real-life scenario. You're stuck in a horrible, typical Kathmandu traffic jam when suddenly a wailing ambulance siren draws your attention. You feel a chill in your spine and turn to look at the emergency vehicle rushing past. And what do you see inside the ambulance? A bunch of people laughing and talking their heads off. They seem to be thoroughly enjoying their good fortune to be traveling in an ambulance tearing through the traffic-choked chaos of Kathmandu. Very interestingly, there's no sign of a medical emergency, let alone a patient. What is one supposed to think after seeing such a sight? A few minutes of reflective pause.

Honestly, doesn't that unnerving sound of an ambulance create a sense of urgency that human lives are involved? Or should you disregard the wailing siren and tell yourself that an ambulance is just another vehicle that's trying to get ahead through the choking traffic? You read in the papers that ambulances have been seen being used for all kinds of purposes instead of carrying sick people to hospital. You also read in the papers that lives that could otherwise have been saved have been lost for lack of an ambulance. And how may of us know the number to call if you needed an ambulance?

Even in the capital Kathmandu, health services are primitive. As there is no emergency telephone number (like 911), if you needed help in a hurry, you would have to look up and dial one of 30 plus ambulance services. And as there is no coordination between the assorted service providers, nobody knows what would be the quickest way to get an injured or sick person to a hospital. Considering the long turnaround time, people find it more expedient to just call a taxi.

Early treatment and proper transport are key issues in improving the outcome of a medical emergency. An ambulance that is well-equipped and well-designed prevents the aggravation of the patient's condition. In Nepal, ambulances are operated by a driver with no medical training and there is no paramedic riding with him. Family members of the sick or injured are forced to provide emergency care and end up worsening the patient's condition.

According to Mahesh Nakarmi, director of Health Care Foundation-Nepal, many easily preventable deaths occur in ambulances in Nepal. Therefore, people prefer to use taxis or buses or even motorcycles instead of ambulances. As a result, most ambulances remain idle during the day and don't earn enough to sustain themselves.

It may be fruitful to consider the following points as a first step in reeducating ourselves and redefining ambulance services in Nepal:

Definition: The term ambulance service needs to be defined more specifically by the ambulance service providers so that everyone can easily understand what it entails.

Coordination: As mentioned earlier, ambulance services lack a coordinating mechanism. A harmonized network with a free three-digit telephone number and a 24-hour dispatch center would make medical transport assistance more efficient. The recent spread of means of mass communication (cheaper frequency modulation radio and mobiles) can be utilized to coordinate activities to produce better ambulance coverage.

Ambulances: It is important to set standards for the type of vehicles to be used as ambulances. Considering the perennial traffic congestion in Kathmandu, ambulances need to be very visible and have a distinct livery. They need to be equipped with medicines and equipment like ventilator, oxygen, first aid kit and stethoscope. Similarly, the service charge also needs to be fixed and standardized so that even low-income groups can afford to use ambulance services. There should be a rule to provide free service in case of accidents and other specific cases. The Nepal Red Cross Society provides free ambulance service during emergencies such as road accidents, violent conflicts and natural disasters. Since petrol shortages have become part of life in Nepal, appropriate arrangements should be made to ensure uninterrupted fuel supply for ambulances so that people don't have to die because they are out of gas.

Public awareness: It is also important that the public is educated about ambulances and ambulance services. The public awareness program should include instruction on how ambulance services can be accessed and information about obtaining assistance during medical emergencies. The dos and don'ts inside an ambulance should be clearly outlined.

Manpower: Here, manpower refers to emergency medical personnel and ambulance drivers. The drivers and paramedics should be trained in first aid and emergency care. They should have valid IDs and licenses. The emergency medical personnel should have adequate experience to deal with emergencies. They should also be able to use the medical equipment in the ambulances and also know how to report and keep records about their patients and ambulance usage.

With regard to emergency medical services in Nepal, the number of tasks that need to be done are many, and the paths that need to be traveled are chaotic. But we need to work extra hard to improve ambulance services and save more lives. World Red Cross Day (May 8) is celebrated around the world in the name of humanitarian service. It is the most appropriate occasion to pledge to get serious about humanitarianism and emergency medical care. It is also time we put an end to the misuse of ambulances and inculcated some sense into people to show the proper respect to this life-saving profession  

(With input from Mahesh Nakarmi, Health Care Foundation-Nepal.)

Summertime!!!

Springtime Memories....published in a magazine...

Springtime Memories

-by Moheindu Amiran Chemjong

The sonnets of spring devastate the thundering walls of my lonely heart. One more time in my life, my love for you burns in my psyche and I joust between the cadence of pleasure and pain, of illusion and reality. The tango of the softer season has returned to the old courtyard spreading the dabs of camphor and lemon balm. The sparkling cherry blossoms of spring speak of love and the silky murmur of the spring time wind touches the tops of cypress trees, reminding me of the love we once shared, the spring of love, and the divine courtyard where you courted me in spring. The spring’s golden light dances with the happy clouds of the beautiful dancing season and fills me again with the concoctions of our legendary romance. The courtyard has long gone to sleep since you decided to hide away in the deep gorges where God resides and today with her imperial touch, looks like a cactus flower full of thorns or like a beautiful face with no soul, no life, no hope…beauty trapped behind the harem walls. The innocence of the season has melted away the dusts of the bonfire, the viles of the heartless yesterdays and the tender hope of spring is emerging from the corners of the winter traces. Amidst the pagan, my heart and the courtyard remain like falling bridges, stuck between hope and desperation, feeling the bitter strains of your absence yet cherishing your love. In the mists of my missing you, holy flames of passion rise in me but without you, they freeze to be paths of memories in my mind. In the spring delight, the birds of music try to remind me of the immortality of our love, they toss a burst of rose petals on me asking me to cherish memories, to live on the sweet music borne out of spring and enjoy springtime in your name. The fountain in the courtyard, too is trying to nurse my burning soul with her pure droplets and the spring sun is spreading rose-colored lights in the hope of intoxicating my senses with the sugary nectar of spring.  My massacred heart glistens at the ray of hope. Maybe, tonight the stars will fall like the rain, maybe these chains of separation will disappear like fogs. Maybe the springtime moon will help me find you in the shadows of spring! Or maybe, tonight, you’ll return to our courtyard to tango to the beats of spring with me! Maybe you will come….

HEAVENLY BLISS

HEAVENLY BLISS

Moheindu Chemjong:

And then, there are those days! Those days filled with utter joy, such radiating, emaciating joy that I want to shout to the world how happy I am. These are the times when my every single care dissipates into the thin air; when mental and physical weariness seem alien to my body. I feel as if I'm badly smitten by the happiness bug and every cell in my body is bubbling with bliss!

The irrepressible excitement, the indomitable spirit of mine, the truth of being alive, the ability to smell the roses, the warmth I can feel when I hug my puppy and the heightened exhilaration of my sense of sight when I catch my lover's eyes are the facets of my blissful state of being. It is on those days that I feel I'm by the ocean on a warm, sunny day playing with the beauty and blessedness of water as I enjoy the far sightings of the ship.

I feel like jumping on my toes like a child and feel like defying maturity. The blissful feeling makes me want to sing on top of my voice. In the halcyon days of mine, in every soul that comes my way, I see a spiritual friend whose beauty shines brightly like the stars and my eyes can exude such brightness that can provide radiance to the darkest skies.

Even the twittering of the birds seems to rhyme with the beatings of my ecstatic heart and there is a stream of passion overflowing all over my body. My smile exclaims fulfilment, gladness and extreme joy. I see butterflies in myriad colours, and the lovebirds, madly in love in the natural high sing to my songs.

I write a reverie and suddenly, there is a shower of red and orange gerberas, deep mauve roses, sweet-smelling water lilies and I feel as if the demigod, Kahlil Gibran is whispering prose into my ears. And while I lie back on the lush green grass and cherish my days on earth, I feel as if the gorgeous blue sky is smiling down at me. I sit under the plum tree and savour the magnificence of God's gift to me. I feel as if I am being caressed by Mother Earth and in her womb, I feel the tranquillity flowing in my veins, no westerly wind or snow or a heartless soul can steal my heavenly feelings. I am loved and cared for, respected, and never disliked, cheated, doubted or envied and all the evil in the world disappears, and love and hope prevail.

On the epoch of ecstasy, the incredulous smell of lavender plants and Intense Pleasures by Christian Dior tantalise my senses giving me the lightness to fly on my wings. On the certain days of euphoric happiness, I'm the lover of life, the child of the Universe who knows the inevitable yet romances the few days on Earth.