Pokhara, March 24

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health Upendra Yadav today urged doctors to use available resources and manpower to deliver quality health services to people.

Inaugurating the Magnetic Resonance Imaging service at Western Regional Hospital, Pokhara, Yadav said the hospital was the pride of the region and requested doctors to use available resources and provide best services to people.

“The government was working to increase budget and resources. The existing resources and infrastructure cannot meet the demands of the present time. A master plan has to be made and implemented for the hospital’s development and upgradation to provide quality health service to patients,” Yadav added.

Noting every successive government in the past had allocated paltry budget to the health sector, Yadav said the government should allocate 10 per cent of the total budget to this sector to provide quality services to people. “The government allocates just 4.4 per cent of the total budget. Of the total allocated budget, four per cent is spent on salary and allowances. How can we develop the health sector in such a condition?” he questioned.

“The country requires 21,000 doctors at present but there are only 1,400 doctors working in health facilities across the country“, said Minister Yadav.