Pokhara, July 25

Nepal government’s decision to extend service hours at government hospitals has fallen short in western Regional Hospital, Pokhara, following protest from doctors who expressed their inability to work extra hours citing lack of incentives.

The hospital, however, has yet to formally notify about the roll back on the changed timetable.

Earlier, then health minister Gagan Thapa had extended the time for outpatient department at government hospitals across the country from 8:00am to 3:00pm pledging incentives for doctors working extra hours.

Due to lack of pledged incentives followed by doctors’ protest, the regional hospital here has rolled back its OPD service hours from 10:00am to 2:00pm from July 19, as opposed to the government directed timing.

“The ministry had implemented the new timetable with much fanfare, but didn’t provide us the incentives as pledged,” reasoned a doctor at the hospital. The doctors in the hospital informed of their concerns to Dr Arjun Acharya, director of Pokhara Institute of Health and Sciences, which is managing the hospital, and reverted to the old service hours. “I’m trying to resume the extended service and have spoken to secretaries at concerned ministry. Once the doctors receive their incentives, the service will resume,” said Acharya.

Hospital accountant Dronaraj Adhikari cited lack of clarity in work procedure that provided doctors the incentives for extra work. “In fact, we had received two million rupees against the required Rs 3.6 million in incentives for three months, but due to lack of clear provision on how to distribute the incentives, the amount simply froze as it was unspent,” he said. Further, he pointed out that doctors didn’t fill in incentive forms to claim the incentive.

Meanwhile, unofficial change in the timetable of daily operation of the OPD has hit patients. Though the normal OPD timing has been reverted to, the hospital is running extended service for two hours after 2:00pm. The service, however, is expensive as patients have to pay Rs 400 to avail extended service after 2:00pm.