Patients in Sunsari District Hospital double

By Jaykrishna Yadav,Inaruwa, May 4: The District Hospital of Sunsari is witnessing a two-fold increase in the number of patients visiting the health centre for treatment.

Situated in Inaruwa Municipality, the district headquarters of Sunsari, the improvement in manpower and service delivery has attracted more patients to the hospital compared to the previous years.

A study report in the hospital’s Social Examination Programme showed that 26,399 patients had visited the outpatient department (OPD) of the hospital two years ago (2020/21).

Last fiscal year (2021/22), the number jumped to 64,960, an increase of 38,561.

“With the improvement in services, the hospital is becoming more popular among the locals. The number of patients doubled in the past year and is improving further,” said Ramesh Bhattarai, a social examiner at Jajnews Media, the organisation facilitating the study report.

According to Bhattarai, visitors informed that they were happy with the improvement in the hospital’s lab and electrocardiogram (ECG) services alongside the cleanliness of the hospital and its toilets.

“We have tried to show the locals that a district hospital is a quality government health centre. 

We are changing their misconceptions that a government hospital provides bad services,” said Dr. Devraj Ghimire, medical superintendent of Sunsari District Hospital.

Similarly, the improvement in treatment services has also led to an increase in the number of patients in the emergency department of the hospital.

According to the hospital administration, they used to have no option but to refer serious cases to other hospitals in the past, but now, they were treating every case possible.

While 5,673 patients got admitted to the emergency department in 2020/21, the number increased to 8,509 in 2021/22.

However, the report also states that the hospital was still falling short in giving its best for lack of enough manpower and resources.