Patients have been facing difficulties due to a shortage of medicines at Pashupati Chaulagai Memorial Hospital, in Charikot. According to the hospital administration, around 200 patients visit the hospital daily for medical services. The shortage of medicines in the hospital’s pharmacy has occurred because the Health Insurance Board and the provincial government have not provided the necessary funds on time. After insured patients raised complaints on social media about not receiving medicines, the hospital clarified during a press conference on November 5 that it has been unable to purchase medicines due to a lack of funds.
Superintendent Laxman Khadka stated that the hospital has been facing difficulties in purchasing medicines because the Health Insurance Board has not cleared its due payments. According to Khadka, medicines worth Rs 40,00,000 were purchased in February last year, and the hospital has been providing the same stock of medicines to patients until now. According to him, since the implementation of health insurance, the Health Insurance Board still owes the hospital Rs 8,69,632. Similarly, for the current fiscal year 2025/2026, the board has released only Rs 10,000 so far.
According to the hospital administration, if they could immediately purchase medicines worth around Rs 40,00,000 to 50,00,000, there would be no shortage. However, due to the hospital’s limited purchasing capacity, there have been difficulties in providing medicines to patients. Chairperson of the Hospital Management Committee, Subash Rimal, stated that although the Bagmati Province government had allocated a budget of Rs 28,00,000 for the hospital in the current fiscal year 2025/2026, the funds have not yet been received. He added that currently, a portion of the revenue generated from the hospital’s internal resources has been invested for patients covered under the insurance scheme.
Chairperson Rimal stated that the hospital pays more than Rs 5,00,000 per month for electricity from its internal funds, and the remaining amount is used primarily for staff salaries, which prevents the expansion of other services. He expressed concerns that due to the lack of necessary funds for purchasing medicines, the delivery of health services under the insurance program has been affected, and despite repeatedly requesting funds from the Health Insurance Board, the hospital has not received the required payments.