Bir Hospital Reopens Senior Citizen OPD After 10 Months of Closure
- August 19, 2024
The Senior Citizen OPD (Outpatient) Ward of Bir Hospital has come into operation. The ward, which had been closed for 10 months due to manpower reduction, is operational since the first week of July 2024.
Dr. Santosh Paudel, the Executive Director of the hospital, stated that the ward was able to reopen after the addition of 100 nurses. He explained, “The Elderly OPD ward had to be closed due to a lack of manpower since November 6, 2023, but we’ve reopened it after appointing 100 nurses. The regular OPD service will now continue.”
The Elderly Ward has 24 general beds and on average, 70 elderly patients visit the ward per day for treatment. However, due to a lack of awareness about the separate OPD service, some patients end up waiting in line at other OPDs. The hospital operates the Elderly OPD service every day from 8 AM to 12 PM and 1 PM to 4:30 PM.
Challenging to Manage Patient Load Despite Two Shifts
Bir Hospital is always crowded with patients, especially the day after a public holiday, the OPD and ticket counters are so busy that there’s barely any room to even stand. The hospital provides OPD services from 8 AM to 12 PM and 1 PM to 4:30 PM. On average, 3,000 patients visit the OPD daily in the two shifts. Executive Director Dr. Paudel mentioned that due to the patient load and limited manpower, it becomes challenging to provide services at times.
Shortage of Manpower to Operate All Beds
Bir Hospital has a total of 966 beds, but currently, only 775 are in operation. Between September 2023 and May 2024, only 550 beds were functional. The hospital expanded its services after hiring more nurses in the first week of July, but still 191 beds remains closed. The hospital administration noted that if these beds were operational, the patient load would decrease, reducing the need to turn patients away. Executive Director Dr. Paudel explained that there is still a manpower shortage preventing the hospital from operating at full capacity. Even though Bir Hospital attracts more patients than other hospitals, and even if all beds were operational, some crowding would still occur, but not like current situation. He added “Patients from all walks of life, from VIPs to the underprivileged, come to Bir Hospital and the government needs to support this hospital more generously”. Due to the insufficient manpower, even ICU beds are closed; out of 60 ICU beds, only 42 are operational. The hospital administration mentioned that some critically ill patients had to be turned away because of its limited ICU beds. As per him, an additional 700 healthcare workers are needed to operate all currently closed ICU and other beds.
Less Manpower Than Sanctioned Positions
Currently, Bir Hospital and the National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS) together employ 1,357 staff members, including doctors, nurses, and other employees. Additionally, there are 290 cleaning staff. In the Surgical Building, 365 out of the 831 newly approved positions are filled; in the old building, 479 out of the 667 approved positions are filled; and at NAMS, 513 out of the 760 approved positions are filled. Executive Director Dr. Paudel noted that the shortage of staff relative to the sanctioned positions has directly impacted service delivery. Of the total 1,357 staff, 513 are allocated to NAMS, leaving only 844 personnel dedicated to Bir Hospital.
Source- Naya Patrika, https://www.nayapatrikadaily.com/news-details/147831/2024-08-20
