Kathmandu. The dialysis service has been launched at Bhaktapur Hospital since today with the aim of providing easy and free services to kidney patients. The Health Minister of Bagmati Province, Kiran Thapa, inaugurated the dialysis service.

He stated that a five-bed dialysis service has been launched at Bhaktapur Hospital among the 16 dialysis machines purchased by the Bagmati Province government with the aim of expanding dialysis services in all provincial hospitals of Bagmati Province. Minister Thapa said, ‘Bagmati Province has started provincial-level dialysis services in hospitals of 11 districts, except for Rasuwa and Kathmandu’s Tokha Hospital, and we will inaugurate in the remaining areas in a few days.’ He mentioned that the ministry has initiated specialized services in all provincial hospitals in 13 districts, and the provincial government will manage additional personnel for them.

Minister Thapa mentioned that the ministry has allocated a budget of 30 million Nepali rupees for the construction of a new building for Bhaktapur Hospital this year and is looking for donors for additional funding, stating that the new building will be completed within five years. In the program, Dr. Sumitra Gautam, Secretary of the Bagmati Province Ministry of Health, stated that Bhaktapur Hospital has become the best hospital in the country among ‘B’ grade hospitals according to minimum service standards and is being developed as a hospital worthy of pride for the province.

She stated that even now, 71 percent of people are dying from non-communicable diseases and mentioned that they are going to conduct campaigns for social awareness to prevent these diseases. Dr. Surendra Bhatt, the acting director of the hospital, said that the dialysis service has been started after getting registered and permitted from the Nursing and Social Security Department of the Federal Ministry of Health and Population. He mentioned that after the department provided the free service facility, free treatment would be available to underprivileged and poor patients.

He informed us that currently, 12 people are being served at the rate of four people in three shifts daily, and one machine will be kept for emergency patients.