The hospital has been operating under the name 'Bayalpata Provincial Hospital' by the Sudurpaschim Provincial Government since Bhadra 1.
What you should know
Basanti Shahi, 65, of Bhuluka, Turmakhand Rural Municipality-2, reached Bayalpata Hospital for bone-related treatment.
She had already learned that Bayalpata Hospital, which has been providing specialist services free of charge for about 17 years, was charging a fee from Kartik 1. Her family was confident that they would receive treatment from the same insurance as they had health insurance.
She only learned about the fact that this hospital, which was operated by the government mechanism, did not provide health insurance facilities after reaching the hospital. ‘We were told that health insurance does not cover treatment, we had to pay the fee, so we returned without treatment,’ she said, ‘I fell and broke my leg 3 years ago. We came here thinking that health insurance would cover treatment. Now it has closed.’
A girl from Kamalbazar Municipality, who had lost her parents, was taken to Bayalpata Hospital by her relatives on Sunday for treatment. They reached the social service units established in government hospitals to provide free or subsidized health services to patients from the target group and sought concessions for the girl’s treatment. The girl, who was under the protection of her relatives, was supposed to receive services from the Social Security Unit. But the hospital has also stopped that service since Bhadra 1.
‘We went to the hospital with all the documents including the ward recommendation.’ Now that we have received information that the service is closed, we have not been able to get treatment,’ said the girl’s relatives. ‘We are not in a position to spend money to get treatment.’ The service provided by the government for orphans has also been stopped by Bayalpata Hospital.’
The Social Security Unit under the Ministry of Health and Population has been operating with the objective of ensuring access to treatment, giving priority to the poor, helpless, disabled, senior citizens, victims of gender violence, disaster-affected and endangered communities, and other socially disadvantaged groups.
Earlier, Bayalpata Hospital, run by Nyaya Health Nepal and an international NGO called Possible in the US, had been providing all these services. The Far Western Province government has been operating this hospital since Bhadra 1 under the name Bayalpata Provincial Hospital. According to hospital sources, an average of 50 patients with health insurance and at least 7 to 8 patients receiving services from the social security unit are deprived of treatment every day.
Since this hospital will be operated under the provincial government, the process for health insurance has to be extended from the beginning, said the head of the hospital administration, Yagyaraj Bhatta. ‘We have completed all the documents to provide treatment services through health insurance and sent them to the National Health Insurance Board. The service will resume only after the board makes a decision,’ he said. ‘A lot of work remains to be done when the hospital operated by the organization comes under the government.’ The hospital itself should establish a social security unit. The unit will probably be established soon.'
He said that treatment has been provided here with a fee since Kartik 1. 'The free service that the hospital was previously providing has been completely stopped. Now, many patients are suffering due to the lack of treatment from the social security unit and health insurance,' he said.
