Cottage hospitals in Arakan townships struggle to address dearth of doctors

By DMG 27 Jul 2022

DMG Newsroom
27 July 2022, Mrauk-U 

Cottage hospitals in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U, Ramree and Rathedaung townships have been devoid of doctors for nearly two years, locals complain. 

The cottage hospital on Ramree Township’s Sagu Island has not had a doctor since 2020. The hospital is currently run by two nurses, though it is the major healthcare facility for around 5,000 people from eight villages, said administrator U Thein Kyaw of Yay Kauk Chaung village-tract. 

“There are only two senior nurses. And we have to go to hospitals in Taungup and Ramree for emergencies. It takes six hours to Ramree and around four hours to Taungup by boat. So, there were cases in which patients died on the way.  And it is dangerous to send patients to hospitals in the rainy season, when the sea is stormy,” he said. 

Similarly, a 16-bed hospital in Ugar village on Moese Island, Rathedaung Township, has not had a doctor since it was put into commission in 2020. The hospital, which is the only facility for some 10 villages in the area, is run by a senior nurse, said Ko Maung Myat Aung of Ugar village. 

“Previously, a doctor from Kutaung hospital came to our hospital once a month. However, the doctor has not come lately. So, we have to go to Kutaung hospital. But the road conditions are really bad, and not OK for very sick people,” he said. 

Locals have officially asked authorities by letter to send doctors to the hospitals, but there has been no response. 

The doctor from Tin Nyo village hospital in Mrauk-U left in early 2021 to do advanced study, but the vacancy left by him has not yet been filled, and the hospital has been run by a senior nurse instead. 

Internally displaced people (IDPs) at the displacement camp in Tin Nyo are suffering more from the lack of a doctor than local residents, said camp manager U Soe Naing. 

“Because there is no doctor at Tin Nyo hospital, IDPs have to go to Mrauk-U town to receive treatment, which costs a lot. Those who can’t afford it can’t see a doctor,” he said. 

Authorities can’t fill the vacancies because of the civil disobedience movement (CDM), said a specialist who did not want to be named. 

“Many doctors do not want to work under the regime after the coup. Those who can afford it have opened their own clinics, and others have joined local and international nongovernmental organisations,” he said. 

DMG was unable to obtain comment from Arakan State Health Department chief Dr. Kyi Lwin about the lack of doctors at cottage hospitals.