Fake medical reports found from people leaving for foreign employment

KATHMANDU: Health institutions are found to have been preparing reports without conducting the health tests of the people going abroad for employment.

During the monitoring, it has been found that the health institutes have been preparing the reports without health equipment and health workers. On top of that, the medical reports are found to have been signed by random people.

While monitoring the health institutions conducting health tests of the people going for foreign employment, the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security found around half of the institutions among those who got the license incapable of performing their duties.

The health institutions listed in the ministry are found to have been preparing the reports without conducting health tests of the workers during the monitoring.

Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security Sharad Singh Bhandari told Nepal Press that he found negligence on the part of authorities concerned during the monitoring.

There is a provision that the people going abroad for foreign employment must undergo health tests. The Nepali workers going from Nepal, however, undergo health tests after reaching the destination country.

Rather than returning to the country after being ‘medically unfit’ by reaching the destination country, the government has started conducting the health tests in Nepal.

The ministry has set criteria for these kinds of health institutions registered in the ministry.

A total of 215 health institutions have been registered at the ministry with the purpose to conduct health tests of people going abroad for foreign employment.

Among them, three have not renewed their license.

The ministry had carried out the monitoring of the remaining 212 health institutions.

According to the ministry, only 145 of them have met the medical standards.

The government has given a month’s time for 67 health institutions registered at the ministry to meet the set standards.

During the monitoring, cold drinks are found to have been kept in the refrigerators meant for keeping medical equipment.

In addition to that, it has been found that Dhumbarahi-based Kundalini Diagnostic Centre does not even have its own lab.

It has been mentioned in the report that most of the medicals have not been able to meet the set standards as they have to pay commission to the manpower companies.

The Ministry initiated monitoring on August 29, covering a total of 213 health institutes both inside and outside the Kathmandu Valley.

After the monitoring, 67 health institutions have been barred from filing reports at the department.

Issuing a notice on January 26, the ministry had instructed these medical facilities to comply with the criteria.

Destination countries choosing health institutions as per their own standards

The destination countries have started selecting health institutions according to their own countries’ standards due to the negligence of the health institutions registered at the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security.

Among them, Malaysia has started this practice for a long time.

The Malaysian government has chosen 36 institutions for the health tests of the workers going to Malaysia for employment.

These institutions have been conducting health tests of Nepali workers as per the Malaysian government’s standards.

Thirty-six agencies that take biometrics of workers going to Malaysia have got international recognition.

The separately listed institutions, however, are conducting medicals of workers going to Malaysia.

The 36 health centres chosen by Bestinet Sdn which received recognition from the Malaysian government have been conducting health tests and they are of international standard, the ministry said.

Likewise, Saudi Arabia has designated 19 institutions. Qatar has been completing all the procedures from Qatar Centre.

Similarly, Israel and Korea have selected four and three such types of health institutions.