The Trishuli Hospital, of Nuwakot, which had been operating under tarpaulin tents since the earthquake of April 25, 2015, shifted to a pre-fabricated building on Monday, to the relief of the patients and medical staff.

Padam Bahadur Chand, officiating secretary at the Ministry of Health, and German Ambassador to Nepal Matthias Meyer inaugurated the prefabricated building amid a function on Monday.

The inauguration also marked the first occasion that a district hospital which had been wrecked by the earthquake moved to a pre-fabricated structure in the country.

“Trishuli Hospital has become the first district hospital to move from tarpaulins to solid structure and now we have to ensure that the patients from the district get better service here. Building back better is not just about building stronger structures but also providing better services as well,” Chand said.

The new structure occupies 421 square metres and caters to patients from Nuwakot, Rasuwa and Dhading, with an average inflow of over 100 patients and 8-10 childbirths per day.

The pre-fabricated structure was constructed by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenabeit (GIZ) in cooperation with Ministry of Health. The 17-room facility has a birthing unit, including nurse room, labour room, autoclave room, neonatal stabilisation room, delivery room and pre-natal and post-natal rooms. There are also laboratory unit consisting of changing room, dark room, control room, pathology, ECG, USG and inpatient blocks. 

Ambassador Meyer informed that the German government will continue its support on reconstruction in the health sector in the quake-affected districts.

“I am extremely proud to be able to help earthquake-affected victims from this district. It also feels good to say that the structure was built in just six months,” said Ambassador Meyer.

He also informed that the German Development Cooperation is supporting the reconstruction of 38 other pre-fabricated health facilities in Nuwakot and Dhading, with nearly 60 percent of planned constructions completed so far.

Before the earthquake, Trishuli’s district hospital previously offered the public 19 blocks for preventative and curative services, including an emergency maternal and child health clinic, out-patient and in-patient services, HIV/AIDS counselling, and health education.