Butwal will be made a health service hub: Minister Pun

By Kapil Gyawali,Siddharthanagar, Apr. 22: Lumbini Province’s Health Minister Dipendra Kumar Pun has said that the government has a plan to make Butwal a hub for health services.

After assuming the office, Pun reached Butwal for the first time to inspect the hospital building, one of the pride projects of Lumbini Province, and made the remarks.  

While inspecting the under-construction modern building of Lumbini Provincial Hospital on Sunday, Minister Pun urged to complete the construction of the new building on time. 

He also met with the health workers and staff and assured them that their problems would be addressed.  

“The ministry is ready to help in managing the required manpower for the hospital,” said Minister Pun. 

He also said that the doctors and health workers who do their work diligently will be rewarded, but if they are found involved in any wrongdoing, they could be punished.

Medical Superintendent Dr. Sudarsan Thapa welcomed Minister Pun at the hospital.

The hospital has to provide services to a large number of patients, but the lack of proper equipment and manpower has hindered the service delivery, said Dr. Thapa.

“The hospital’s laparoscopy machine has not been working for quite some time but its repair has been halted because of budget constraints,” he said.

Lack of equipment has also affected operations as patients have to wait for over a year at times to get their operations done. 

Thapa said, “Despite our efforts to do good, the lack of proper equipment is causing problems. We haven’t been able to fix the laparoscopy machine. If four more machines are to be added, the waiting periods for an operation will go down by one-fourth.”

Thapa also expressed concerns about the insurance payments that the federal government has not been making, stating, “We are yet to receive Rs. Rs. 150 million from August last year. Because of this, we fear that the treatment process will take a hit.”

The provincial government agreed to provide an annual grant of Rs. 60 million after the demolishing of the hospital’s – shutter. 

The hospital received the grant for the first two years but it has now been stopped.