![Santosh Paudel, director of Bir Hospital, acknowledged that services, from surgery to ICU, were affected when the staff were removed all at once. "When ICU and HDU were operated with 90 beds, the cases of patients having to go to other hospitals were significantly fewer." Relatives of middle and low-income patients immediately search for available beds upon entering the emergency room. Unfortunately, in the yellow area, there are two to three patients occupying a single bed. Additionally, the green area remains inaccessible. Some patients endure pain while seated in wheelchairs, while others lie on the ground, connected to saline drips. Due to delays in admission to the ward and ICU, some patients have to endure waiting times of two to three days in the emergency room.](https://english.onlinekhabar.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Bir-Hospital.jpg)
Kathmandu, June 5
The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has arranged 374 beds at 52 hospitals for the free treatment of helpless and poor people. The private hospitals are obliged to allocate a minimum of 10 per cent of beds and free treatment to the helpless and indigent people as per KMC’s edict.
Public health inspector at the health department of KMC, Dhanendra Shrestha, informed that, so far, 70 patients benefitted from the scheme launched last February. Most of those receiving the service are from out of the capital city.
After the private hospitals flouted legal provisions, the KMC introduced a free treatment work procedure, in 2080 and brought to strict implementation.
The KMC has also managed a system where the availability of beds, treatment services and other schemes at private hospitals can be checked online. Some of such indigent patients were discharged after treatment while some still undergoing treatment.
Shrestha further informed that most of such patients are suffering from ear, nose and throat (ENT) problems, and kidney disease, while some have respiratory and eye problems.
A hotline at 1180 of KMC could be dialled to receive information about the treatment or the service.