Kathmandu, January 7

Minister for Health Gagan Kumar Thapa today inaugurated the ICU of Kanti Children’s Hospital, whose in-patient capacity was recently increased from eight to 52.

Speaking at a programme on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the hospital today, Minister Thapa said Kanti hospital should be developed as a special hospital to treat all kinds of diseases in children.

He directed the hospital to provide the first dose of medicine for children who come for emergency services free of cost.

He said, “Every child who is admitted to the emergency ward should be provided the first dose of drugs free. The ministry will cover all costs and provide the necessary medicines for this.” Many patients in the hospital returned from the hospital without treatment in the past due to its low in-patient capacity.

“Citizens, especially children, should not be deprived of health care, and the practice of transferring patients from public to private hospitals should come to an end,” he said.

In the same way, Minster Thapa instructed the hospital to maintain the quality of its laboratories and radiology department to continue to gain the trust of the public in the hospital.

He said, “Public hospitals in the country lack sufficient staff. The existing staff do not behave well with patients, and untimely service has eroded the quality of health service in public health facilities. These problems must be addressed soon.”

Professor Dr Ajit Rayamajhi, director of Kanti Children’s Hospital, said the hospital will soon follow the minister’s directives of providing free first dose of medicine to all patients.