DHARAN, March 17 -- Hari Kumari Rai, a nursing supervisor at the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS), says that she 'does not have time even to breathe.' However, patients complain that there are no nurses around to care for them. "One nurse is supposed to take care of around six patients, but here we have to look after twenty patients," Rai lamented.

Human resource crunch has been affecting the services of the hospital. "Everyone shouts at the nurse. They cannot vent out their anger at the doctor, but nurses are an easy target," she said.

The shortage of nurse in the hospital has become acute in recent years. The lack is mostly due to the overwhelming demand for nurses in foreign countries. 'Nobody wants to work in Nepal.'...