The Lumbini Provincial Hospital Butwal and Rapti Provincial Hospital Dang have started cost-free OPD and Emergency Ticket, Bed and Blood Service from July 17, 2022.
Both the hospitals have announced that they will not be taking any charges from the patients for their treatment in OPD and Emergency from the fiscal year 2022/23. Also, they will not be taking any fare for bed after admission.
The provincial government has allocated a budget worth NPR 15 million for making OPD services and bed charges free of cost. As per, Dr. Indra Dhakal, Superintendent of Lumbini Provincial Hospital, the patients have to take a ticket from the counter although they will not be charged for it.
Ministry of Health, Population and Family Welfare, Indrajit Tharu said this service will be implemented from July 17, following the budget for the fiscal year 2022/23.
Likewise, patients getting treatment in government hospitals of Lumbini Province will get free services related to blood. From July 17, 2022, all kinds of treatment involving blood will be free of cost.
Lumbini Provincial Hospital and Blood Transfusion Centre of Butwal have reached an agreement on providing services related to blood for free. The agreement was signed on July 16 between Dr. Indra Dhakal, representing the hospital and Krishna Pangeni, Coordinator of the Blood Transfusion Centre.
Pangeni, Coordinator of the Blood Transfusion Centre and Secretary General of Red Cross Society Lumbini, informed that the cost of the services will be covered by the budget allocated by the government. He further informed that Red Cross has been collecting blood throughout the province and after the government has decided to provide blood for free in government hospitals, the entire province will be getting the blood for free.
Dr. Indra Dhakal, the Medical Superintendent of the hospital, said if the patients who come to the hospital need blood, the Blood Transfusion Centre will provide blood free of charge on the recommendation of the doctors. Before this, the patient had to pay up to 800 rupees for the required blood, including blood collection and store mapping.