At least 13 district hospitals are set to begin specialty services in collaboration with various medical colleges from this month. Government hospitals in Sarlahi, Dhading, Rolpa, Gorkha, Aargakhachi, Udaypur, Dhankuta, Nawalparasi, Saptari, Mahendranagar, Dang, Nuwakot and Baglung districts will begin specialty services including surgical facility.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) has recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Medical Sciences to this effect.

Dr Ganesh Gurung, vice-chancellor of NAMS, said they would be providing pediatric, gynaecology and orthopaedic, among other services, in Sarlahi, Nuwakot and Rolpa.

“We have begun assessment of these facilities. The ministry has assured us of providing required facilities to run the specialty services,” he said. The IoM is currently providing support in Rapti Zonal Hospital, Dang, while it plans to expand the services in Rajbiraj and Mahendranagar. At present, nine resident doctors, who are currently in second and third year of their MD/MS programme, have been serving in Dang.

They include specialists in surgery, gynaecology, orthopaedics, anaesthesia, ENT, dermatology and psychiatry.

The government has started collaboration with various medical schools for specialty services in hospitals outside the Valley.

Under the deal, each medical college should mandatorily choose at least one district hospital as its community teaching-learning centre and ensure availability of specialists round the year.

Dr Bhola Ram Shrestha said they were also holding talks with the Patan Academy of Health Sciences and the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences to expand their services in districts.

Also, the MoH is reaching out to private medical colleges including Birtanagar-based Nobel Medical College and Bharatpur-based College of Medical Sciences.

Dr Shrestha said they would be providing all the required infrastructure and necessary budgets will be released soon. 

As a majority of the selected hospitals do not have specialists, people are forced to visit private hospitals or other urban centres for treatment.