Minister for Health and Population, Mohan Bahadur Basnet, has directed the hospitals to allocate 10 per cent of the total beds for free treatment to the patients. In course of monitoring the hospitals including Gangalal National Heart Centre on Friday, Minister Basnet asked the hospital management to arrange 10 per cent of the total beds for free treatment service to the people from poor, helpless and backward communities.
“The government makes agreement to allocate 10 per cent of the total beds for free treatment to poor people while granting permission to all government and private hospitals. We know that many hospitals have found violating this rule. We will ask for record in this regard”, he mentioned. The Health Minister shared that action would be taken against those hospitals which failed to implement the agreement, adding government will ensure this cost-free treatment to poor people at any cost.
The ministry has already sent a circular in this regard, he added. Minister Basnet further said they had already asked the hospitals to show details of the occupied and empty beds, beds at ICU, and ventilator in their websites. He mentioned that uniformity should be maintained in treatment charge at private hospitals. The Health Minister viewed that he would take initiative to increase tax on tobacco-related products. Director of Gangalal National Heart Centre, Dr Chandra Mani Adhikari, briefed Minister Basnet about the treatment services the hospital has been providing.
