Kathmandu, March 2

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli today laid the foundation stone of an annex building of Manmohan Cardiothoracic Vascular Transplant Centre. The new building is being constructed on the premises of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Maharajgunj.

The centre had decided to construct the building after it was unable to handle the flow of the patients. “The building that we are currently using is small and we are unable to bring new technologies to the centre. We are, therefore, constructing the new building to expand our services,” said Prof Dr Uttam Krishna Shrestha, executive director at the centre. Construction of the building is expected to be completed within 19 months at the cost of Rs 30 crore.

Currently, the hospital has 83 beds. Forty more beds will be added in the newly constructed building. The building will also have a suite for treatment of VIPs. The building will also house a Hybrid Operation Theatre.

Laying the foundation stone of the annex building, Prime Minister Oli said his government would be accountable to the people. He also said that his government would make all efforts to achieve the goals of development and prosperity. He said the government would make sure that the people enjoyed the benefits of prosperity.

“No Nepali will face starvation,” he said and added that the country would graduate from the least developed countries in a few years. The PM also said that he would adopt the policy of zero tolerance towards corruption.

“Corruption could be eliminated if all government employees perform their duty in a way that does not raise suspicion in the minds of their junior staff,” he said.

PM Oli also said that the health centres should ensure that patients got quality care. “Quality is required in both the health professionals’ capacity and physical infrastructure,” PM Oli added.

The hospital has given free health services worth Rs 13 crore to the needy patients this year. The centre has performed 1,116 procedures in its Cath Lab whereas it has performed 1,686 surgeries of heart, lungs and blood vessels. The hospital has been providing specialist care in cardiology and cardiac surgery.