Health Ministry to upgrade KCH into 1,000 bed capacity children’s hospital

KATHMANDU: Secretary at the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), Dr Roshan Pokharel, has said that the Ministry is committed to upgrading the Kanti Children’s Hospital into a 1000-bed capacity highly specialized pediatric facility.

Addressing a program marking the 61st Anniversary of the Hospital here today, he said the Ministry is working towards up-scaling the Hospital as per the master plan for the same.

The Health Secretary shared that the Ministry has written to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration for managing the required quota for employees to operate the facility.

“The shortage of nursing staff is still there at the Hospital. We have already send letters to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of General Administration for the required staff quotas.

Ministry another secretary Dev Kumari Guragain said initiatives have been made to get approval from the two ministries to manage additional quotas of staff to cater services as per the increasing number of patients.

Hospital Director Dr Yuba Nidhi Basaula informed that works are on for developing the detailed project report for upgrading the Hospital as the National Institute of Pediatrics.

The hospital has launched ‘Water Vending Machine’ (Water ATM) at its premises on the occasion of the anniversary. One can enjoy cold or hot water at Rs 1 from Water ATM.

The hospital has been urging the Health Ministry to make arrangements of 83 quotas including 15 staff nurses and 10 senior medical officers to run a bed-bed emergency unit.

On the occasion, the Vice-Chancellor of the National Academy of Medical Sciences, Bir Hospital, Prof Dr DN Shah shared that a children’s hospital should be constructed in every state.

Kanti Children’s Hospital, which had started providing services from 1963 with 50 beds, has now been providing its services with 330 beds.

A total of 116,453 people received OPD services in the fiscal year 2022/23 from the hospital.

Similarly, 44,892 people got emergency services and 2,526 surgery services during the period.