Medical Teams Deployed to Himalayas for Health Checks of Climbers and Trekkers

A team of doctors has been deployed to the Himalayas for health checks of climbers and trekkers arriving for the spring climbing season. The Himalayan Rescue Association (HRA) has dispatched a team of 11, including foreign doctors, to Everest Base Camp in Solukhumbu, as well as to Phereche and Manang district, to provide treatment for domestic and international mountain trekkers.

The association, established in 2030 BS (1973 AD) with the objective of providing health services to tourists climbing in the spring and autumn seasons, has sent a team of 11, comprising five foreign and two Nepali doctors, to the mountains as the spring season began.

Dambar Parajuli, President of the Himalayan Rescue Association, informed that temporary health centers have been established at Everest Base Camp in Solukhumbu, Phereche in Solukhumbu, and Manang village in Manang, and medical teams have been stationed there to examine and treat mountain tourists heading for Himalayan ascents.

He stated, "We have mobilized volunteer doctors by providing them with training to offer specialized services in the base areas, targeting both domestic and foreign tourists going for Himalayan climbing."

At the Everest Base Camp, Australian doctor Samantha Allison Wills, Nepali doctor Pins Singh, and support staff Lakpa Nurbu Sherpa are stationed. At the Phereche Health Post, Australian doctor Rebecca Ellen Carpenter, Dr. Caitlin Brooke Harper from the USA, Nepali doctor Akriti Singh, and support staff Ang Dawa Sherpa and Thaneshwor Bhandari are deployed.

Similarly, the association announced that at the Manang Health Post, Dr. Joseph Peter Mahoney from the USA, Australian Dr. Ken J. Koh, and support staff Prakash Khatri are stationed. The association, which provides health services to thousands of trekkers and climbers every year, also sets up health camps at Gosainkunda during Janai Purnima to serve trekkers.

Govinda Bashyal, Chief Executive Officer of the association, informed that the HRA provides detailed training to the volunteer doctors deployed in the field regarding altitude sickness and other health problems encountered in mountainous regions before sending them to their posts.

This team provides free health services to domestic trekkers. CEO Bashyal stated that the association only deploys doctors who have received approval from the Nepal Medical Council to their field areas.

Nilhari Bastola, immediate past president of the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN), the umbrella organization for mountain trekking businesses, stated that providing health services to domestic and foreign trekkers who have reached high-altitude areas for Himalayan climbing is a commendable effort.

"The health service has provided relief to tourists going for Himalayan climbing; this service should also be provided by the government sector. The service provided by the association in the Himalayan region is praiseworthy," said Bastola.

The association has been establishing a health camp at Everest Base Camp since 2003 to serve climbers, support staff, and other trekkers. Health services have been provided at Phereche since 1973, Manang village since 1980, and Gosainkunda since 1997.