‘I can’t sit or stand, it’s been a long time, my turn hasn’t even come yet,’ said a 60-year-old woman in front of the ticket counter of Bir Hospital, sighing and sitting on the floor. She had arrived at the hospital from Lainchaur on Monday morning with her daughter to complain about her long-standing knee and body pain. She had taken her token at 9:55 am, but her turn hadn’t come until 12:30 pm. ‘Today, it’s going to take a long time,’ she said.

She has been a patient for 8 years, having a permanent home in Kavre. She has been visiting many hospitals, undergoing treatment, and undergoing therapy, but the pain has not subsided. She said that she came to Bir for treatment because it is a cheap and good government hospital, ‘I have been wondering if the hospital will make her sicker.’ Waiting for turn makes the day go by.'

Tanka Prasad Subedi of Gongabuka reached the same hospital at 9 am to treat his niece. He had taken the token at around 11 am, but his turn did not come until 1 pm. Stating that he had to stay in the hospital all day, he said, 'This is the condition when you get treatment for a common cold. What would have happened if you had a serious illness.'

In fact, he keeps coming to Bir Hospital for treatment. He estimated that the hospital, which opened after two days of holidays on Sunday and Saturday, had increased in crowd. He said that many patients were suffering due to the two-day bandh. He said that he had closed his shop, which was doing wholesale clothing business in Mahaboddha, and had to stay in the hospital all day, which affected his business.

Major hospitals like Bir, Maternity, Tribhuvan University Teaching, National Trauma Center had a lot of patient traffic on Monday, from OPD to laboratory and radiology services. Sushil Nath's wife, who came from Buddhism, has a kidney problem. He had come to Bir Hospital a week ago for a check-up due to swelling of his body and face. The doctor had done a video X-ray. He has been running to the hospital for three days to show the report. He comes to the hospital, takes a token, but when his turn comes, the doctor has already left. On Monday too, he had been waiting for his turn at the ticket counter for two hours after taking a token at 10 am. ‘How can a person who earns a living eat after having to run for three days to show his report?’ he asked.

On 22 Chaitra, the government had decided to give two public holidays a week with the aim of reducing the consumption of petroleum products. The impact of this is now starting to be seen in government hospitals. Amidst the uncertainty over whether to operate the hospital on Sunday or not, the Ministry of Health issued a statement on April 4, stating that government hospitals would also be closed on holidays. This has led to problems such as patients having to wait for a long time, not getting services on time, and delays in tests. The pressure on the hospital has increased significantly, especially on the first day after the holiday. Doctors say that pressure has increased from OPD to laboratory and radiology services.

Ananta Bhakta Upreti, Senior Consultant Physician at Bir Hospital, says that the two-day holiday has had some impact. But he says that there are three reasons for the crowding at Bir Hospital. First, other hospitals have stopped health insurance, which makes patients come to Bir to take insurance benefits. Second, the same patient is crowded at the counter as he purchases multiple tickets to get OPD services from different departments. Third, Upreti says that the crowding is seen because the patients do not know the day on which they will receive treatment facilities. ‘Patients do not know whether they will receive treatment according to the bar, so it is crowded on any day,’ he said.

According to Tara Bahadur Kunwar, the hospital’s information officer, the number of patients in the OPD service increases significantly on Mondays after a two-day holiday. According to him, while 3 to 4 thousand patients use OPD services on other days, this number reaches over 5 thousand on Mondays. He said that even though all patients who come for OPD services are provided, this creates a lot of pressure on the hospital. ‘So far, there has been no situation where patients have to return due to lack of OPD services, but the hospital is facing difficulty in handling the pressure of patients in laboratory and radiology services,’ he said.

He informed that there are delays in lab tests and radiology tests due to limited machines. He said that patients have to wait for a long time, especially for tests like MRI. The turn of patients for MRI usually reaches the month of Jestha. The hospital administration has pointed out that it is necessary to expand services, improve services and add manpower to manage the increasing patient load.

Patients are facing problems such as having to wait for a long time, not getting services on time and delays in tests. Around 700 to 1,000 patients visit the OPD at the Paropkar Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital in Thapathali daily. But after a two-day holiday, the number of patients reached 1,459 last Monday, the hospital administration has said. Hospital information officer Ranu Thapa said that the number of patients increased the day after the holiday. She said that the hospital is managing despite the increase in patient load due to the holiday. The hospital administration also has data showing that more than 700 patients were added to the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Maharajgunj on Monday compared to other days.

Chief Medical Superintendent of the National Trauma Center, Rudra Marasini, said that the patient load at the hospital will naturally increase after the two-day holiday. ‘The trauma center usually receives about 700 patients daily, but more than 200 more patients came on Monday after the holiday,’ he said. Although the OPD service is closed during the holidays, the emergency and operation services will continue to operate, so there will be no major impact on the overall service flow, he said. According to him, the Sunday OPD service has been shifted to other days to manage the patients who were stopped due to the holiday. Even if the service is managed in this way, it will take about a month to completely return the patient load to normal, he informed.