I had to visit a doctor the other day to find out exactly why I cough so much all of a sudden when I don’t smoke anything, or don’t run around all day in this overly polluted city of Kathmandu. Before this, it had been a really long time since I had last stepped into any kind of medical facility. So then I called some of my relatives who regularly get sick to take their advice as to where I should take my ailment to. Not one of them said Kathmandu Model Hospital. Only reason I went in there was because of my scheduling issues with other medical facilities in town.

So I walked into the facility and paid my Rs. 200 for an appointment with a Doctor who specialized in ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat). Fearing there may a queue before me outside the Doc’s office and that I may have to wait a while before I could visit him, I thought it best to hit the Mens’ Restroom first.

I can’t begin to tell you how bad a shape this Mens’ Restroom in the ground floor of Kathmandu Model Hospital was:

• the restroom flat-out stinks and it stinks BAAD
• the urinals are there just for show – let me explain: you take a piss and your piss hits the floor thereby increasing the chances of your own urine meddling with your shoes or pants
• the commode’s color was hard to deduce, the condition of it was what a hospital should never have
• the terribly dirty sinks had no handwash or sanitizers
• no paper towels or hand drying facilities were present in the restroom

This is a hospital Ms./Mr. Whoever-You-Are-That-Runs-This-MEDICAL-FACILITY. How about making sure it’s restrooms are clean? Who in their right frame of mind would visit such a facility again? I, for one, am not going to go there ever again for check-up. I will visit this facility sometime next month to see if there’s any improvement in the Mens’ Restroom.

Well, when I made it to the Doc’s office, I found out there indeed was no line. Yes, I did mention the Mens’ Restroom’s state to the Doctor. He nodded and told me he would present this matter to the concerned personnel. We’ll find out next month whether or not these concerned personnel will act.