Nepal Health News, Myagdi – Patients traveling from faraway places are facing great difficulties after the outpatient department (OPD) services were halted at the Provincial Hospital located in the district headquarters, Beni.
Following the call of the Nepal Medical Association, doctors at the hospital have completely shut down OPD services from Friday, expressing solidarity with the ongoing protest, which demands the fulfillment of the justified and practical concerns of residential doctors.
With the OPD services completely shut, patients who regularly came to the hospital for check-ups and treatment have been forced to return home without receiving care.
Bhabiram BK from Lulang, Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality–2, arrived at the hospital early Saturday morning for treatment. However, with the OPD closed, he had no choice but to return home without being treated. “Now I’ll have to go to private clinics. Even the regular medicines I take weren’t available at the hospital,” he lamented.
For the past two years, hospitals in Gandaki Province had been operating extended OPD services from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. even on public holidays. The Provincial Hospital in Beni was among the first to offer this extended service. But with services now disrupted, patients from rural areas are facing even more hardship.
Dr. Ramu Sapkota of the hospital informed that only emergency services are being provided to patients in serious condition. “The OPD service is completely shut down,” he confirmed.
The protesting doctors have started the agitation demanding that residential doctors be provided a monthly subsistence allowance equivalent to the government’s 8th level pay scale. Due to the protest, OPD services in government hospitals across the country are being affected. Doctors at Beni Hospital have also drawn the attention of the District Administration Office regarding the protest.
As the government has yet to take any steps toward resolving the issue, ordinary patients are being deprived of treatment and are increasingly distressed. There remains uncertainty over when the protest will end and when services will return to normal.
