Hospitals told to provide bed availability updates on their website

KATHMANDU: Minister for Health and Population, Mohan Bahadur Basnet, has instructed hospitals to provide daily updates on bed availability on their websites.

Minister Basnet specifically directed federal hospitals to regularly update information on the number of occupied and vacant beds in the general and emergency wards on a daily basis.

Basnet highlighted the existing situation where patients with access to influential people can easily secure a bed, while those without access struggle to find one. “In Kathmandu, patients are losing their lives while desperately searching for a hospital bed,” he said, adding, “To ensure fair access for all patients, federal hospitals must publish information about occupied and vacant beds within seven days.”

Likewise, Basnet directed federal hospitals to introduce online registration for outpatient services within 15 days.

Basnet also directed officials to withdraw equipment that has remained unused in hospitals for two years and allocate them to other hospitals as needed. Likewise, he said the ministry will seek clarification from hospitals procuring equipment without arranging space for installation and manpower to operate them.