Medical College's staff on protest

By Siraj Khan,Nepalgunj, Dec. 22: Employees of Nepalgunj Medical College have completely shut down the Outpatient Department (OPD) services at Kohalpur and Nepalgunj teaching hospitals demanding a salary increment.

The closure of OPD services at Kohalpur Teaching Hospital, the largest private hospital in western Nepal, and the teaching hospital in Nepalgunj has caused significant inconvenience for patients.

Demanding a salary hike as agreed by the government, employees of the medical college and teaching hospitals, are currently in the second phase of their protest. They had partially shut down OPD services on Wednesday and Thursday. 

However, after their demands were ignored, they fully closed OPD services at both hospitals and halted academic activities at the medical college starting from Friday, according to Ratna Giri, the coordinator of the Central Protest Mobilisation Committee.

Giri further said that the hospital management has resorted to issuing threats and intimidation instead of addressing the employees' legitimate demands. So, the OPD services have been shut down indefinitely.

Emergency services, however, are still operational, considering the patients’ difficulties, Giri said, warning of further escalation if the demands are not met. The complete shutdown of OPD services at both hospitals left many patients without treatment on Friday, forcing them to return home without receiving medical care.

The general public has also raised concerns and criticised the medical college and its affiliated hospitals for significantly increasing service charges while neglecting to raise employees’ salaries. 

Javed Rai of Nepalgunj-11 said that it was unfair for hospitals to heavily burden patients with exorbitant service charges while denying employees their rightful salary increments. He also urged local authorities to interfere and reduce the excessively increased service fees.

The employees of Nepalgunj Medical College, operated by Lord Buddha Educational Academy, are currently in the second phase of their protest after their demands remained unaddressed during the first phase.

Despite several rounds of negotiations between the protesting employees and hospital management, no resolution has been reached, compelling the employees to continue their strike.

The employees submitted a seven-point demand letter to the hospital administration on June 18, 2024, seeking salary increments, improved services and facilities and institutional reforms. However, the hospital management has shown no willingness to address their concerns, leading to the escalation of protests.