Pokhara begins study for proposed Burn Hospital

POKHARA: Pokhara Metropolitan City (PMC) has begun a feasibility study for the construction of a 100-bed Burn and Specialized Hospital in Pokhara.

A high-level expert team from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) is currently in Pokhara to conduct the study.

The PMC is preparing to construct the hospital on the land utilized by the former Lekhnath Municipality office.

The team, led by KOICA Country Director Mooheon Kong and including the Deputy Country Director, Assistant Country Director, and 17 Korean experts, has been conducting the study for the past three days. The team, which is reviewing the progress of the Green Venture Zone (GVZ), is providing technical consultation for the hospital project.

Preliminary estimates have shown that the project will cost more than Rs 1 billion.

Construction of the Ward 27 office on three ropani of land has already been completed at the proposed site, while work is underway to build a Disaster Management Centre on five ropanis of land with the support of the Asian Development Bank.

According to PMC Mayor Dhanraj Acharya, the remaining 28 ropani will be used to develop the burn hospital along with maternity and gynaecology, paediatrics, trauma care, kidney treatment, and other specialised services, turning the facility into a multi-speciality hospital.

According to Dr Kiran Nakarmi, director of the Plastic Surgery Department at Kirtipur Hospital, around 70% of burn incidents in Nepal occur inside homes. He added that 90 treatment centers should be built across the country to ensure that victims receive primary treatment within two hours of an incident.

The PMC announced the construction of a burns hospital in Pokhara after then-Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel and Mayor Acharya were seriously injured in a balloon explosion during Visit Pokhara Year last year.