Kathmandu, July 16: The number of people receiving treatment through the free health portal run by the government targeting the underprivileged has surpassed 2,200.
According to the Ministry of Health and Food Safety, the number of hospitals registered on the portal has been increasing. Initially, there were 13 hospitals registered, but now this number has reached 238, said the ministry’s spokesperson, Dr. Sameer Kumar Adhikari.
Hospitals have been regularly updating the total number of beds and details of 10 percent of free beds available with them through the portal.
Poor patients or their relatives can check from their mobile or computer how many free beds are available in which hospital. Also, information about available blood in hospitals can be checked through the portal.
The government has launched this IT-based system to implement the right to free healthcare services as mentioned in the constitution.
According to the Health Institutions Operation Standards, 2077, hospitals are required to provide 10 percent of total beds for free to the poor, helpless, and abandoned patients.
According to the Ministry’s spokesperson, more than 1,760 people have received free bed facilities since the launching of the portal.
Among the country’s major hospitals, the BP Koirala Cancer Hospital has the highest number of free beds available. All 251 free beds there are unoccupied. On the other hand, Bir Hospital has had the highest occupancy of free beds.
Dr. Adhikari said that the number of users was low because the general public was not aware of the free beds, and he mentioned that the occupancy of such beds would increase as the information about it becomes more widely known.
The ministry has stated that it has approved the Free Treatment Portal Operation and Management Procedure, 2083, and posted it on their website.
The ministry also mentioned that work is on to make the portal more organized and to render the free treatment services more accessible to the target group.
