Rising maternity cases strain Bheri Hospital’s limited staff and facilities

By Siraj Khan, Nepalgunj, Jan 9: The closure of the mother safety program at two large private hospitals in the Banke district has led to a significant increase in the pressure on maternity services at Bheri Hospital. 

Bheri Hospital said that the new mothers seeking treatment at the hospital are also suffering following the shutdown of the program.

Doctors said that the demand for safe delivery services at Bheri Hospital has increased significantly in the last year after the maternal safety program was removed at Sanjibini Hospital in Nepalgunj and the Medical College in Kohalpur.

 "There is a huge number of patients in Banke itself, in addition to the number of patients seeking treatment at the Bheri Hospital, owing to the lack of enough doctors in some districts, including Bardiya; this further increases patient load in the hospital," said Dr Urmila Parajuli, Head of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics of Bheri Hospital.

Delivery charge in private hospitals has become quite expensive following the shutdown of the mother safety program in private hospitals, so most people chose Bheri Hospital, which has led to a significant increase in the number of patients in the maternity service.

According to statistics from Bheri Hospital, the hospital provided maternity services to 2,000 women in the first five months of the last fiscal year. This number has increased to around 4,000 in the same period of the current fiscal year.

Medical Superintendent of the hospital, Dr Nirajan Subedi, said that earlier, 400 people used to avail maternity services monthly, but now the number has increased to 700 to 900.

He said that the maternity service was already under high pressure, and due to the compulsion to rely solely on Bheri Hospital for the facilities of the mother safety program, the crowd has increased uncontrollably, which is causing problems in managing the service.

Dr Subedi said that the hospital has a policy of not turning away anyone who comes for maternity services, so when the pressure increases, they have to provide services on the floor.

The hospital's maternity department said that two to three people have to serve up to 20 patients in one shift.

Sheela Sharma, nursing in-charge of the maternity service, said that there are currently 18 nurses in the maternity ward, but when divided into three shifts, a single nurse is forced to look after three to five women in labor.

There is a plan to build a separate maternity ward in the master plan of Bheri Hospital. The DPR for the ward has also been prepared. However, the plan has been shelved due to the government's failure to provide budget.

Health workers have been saying that building a new maternity ward at the hospital to cope with the increasing pressure of service recipients is the only long-term solution to the problem.

Along with maternity services at the hospital, the pressure of patients is also increasing in dialysis, ICU, NICU, medical, orthopedic, and emergency wards.

The hospital administration said that despite the shortage of manpower and limited resources, healthcare workers are providing apt services.

 The increasing patient load at Bheri Hospital has made it imperative to expand healthcare services and increase resources in western Nepal.