What Free Services Are Provided Along With Free Hospital Beds to the Poor and Needy?
Image source, B&B Hospital
Reading time: 5 minutes
With the government’s online portal enabling nationwide hospital bed availability checks, service users have found it easier to access free beds.
As of Sunday evening, the portal showed that 3,185 free beds were vacant across government, community, and private health institutions in the country.
The portal indicated that only 156 patients were admitted to the free beds.
Even some private hospitals, known for high costs and large scale, showed a number of free beds available.
Some government hospitals, where obtaining a bed is often considered difficult, also have free beds available.
Image source, MADHURI MAHATO/BBC
Why Are So Many Free Beds Shown as Vacant?
Some government and private hospitals in the Kathmandu Valley have been noted to be unclear regarding this issue.
Who Is Eligible for Which Free Services?
According to the Ministry of Health and Population, “Every citizen has the right to receive basic health services free of charge from the state, nobody is denied emergency care, and there is emphasis on 10% of facilities being accessible on an equal footing.”
This is not a new concept. The Health Institution Operation Standards of 2020 require that 10% of total beds are to be made available free of charge to the poor, helpless, and abandoned patients.
The ministry states that the online system was developed to effectively implement this provision, making free treatment services more effective, accessible, and transparent.
Deputy Spokesperson Dr. Sameer Kumar Adhikari says, “In government hospitals, the free beds often exceed 10%. There is monitoring to ensure that no patient is denied care even if beds appear vacant. Facilitations are carried out where confusion exists.”
He further adds, “According to registration and renewal standards, hospitals must allocate 10% free beds for the poor. Laboratories provide 10% of services for free due to tax concessions.
Hospitals must also provide free services to 10% of patients for equipment like X-rays, ultrasounds, and CT scans where tax exemptions are granted. There are no separate guidelines for medicines, which will require further management. Insurance also supports this,” he said.
Free Beds Are Also Available in Government Hospitals
Image source, TUTH
Despite frequent reports that patients find it difficult to get beds in government hospitals, such facilities exist.
Bir Hospital has 960 approved beds; among them, 396 are reserved as free beds and are all shown as vacant.
Patan Hospital’s Paropakar Maternity and Women’s Hospital has 489 beds, out of which 358 are free and appear vacant on the portal.
Senior Medical Record Officer Praveen Acharya of Bir Hospital says the hospital provides free beds only, with other services not being free. However, concessions are offered to poor patients with the help of hospital departments.
“Some patients receive completely free services while others get partial concessions,” he said. “Work is underway to effectively enforce the government’s 10% bed allocation rule.”
He clarified that patients are never left without a bed. There might be overcrowding in some wards but no patient should be denied a bed.
Nursing Inspector Savitri Dahal at Paropakar Hospital reported that as of Sunday evening, 109 beds were vacant.
She stated that the count included beds in outpatient departments that are closed during holidays, which inflates the vacancy numbers.
“Beds become less available when patients are admitted or discharged. We never turn away patients who want to come,” Dahal stated.
She highlighted that free beds exceed the required 10% quota as well.
All these free beds amount to a total of 396. Dahal added, “We provide free meals morning and evening along with government-supplied free medicines.”
Services in Private Hospitals and the Confusions Seen
Some large and expensive private hospitals in Kathmandu also show free beds as vacant.
When inquiring at Grande Hospital about this, they promised to provide information later but have yet to respond.
Prakash Kumar Bhattarai, administrator of B&B Hospital, stated that they seek clarity from the government regarding concessions for patients eligible for 10% free bed facilities.
“Our hospital handles serious accident victims and cases requiring expensive medication. We need to provide costly supplies and prolonged hospital stays. We are awaiting clear directives from the government,” he explained. “The government is preparing guidelines to send out.”
Nevertheless, the hospital has arrangements to provide free services to those who cannot pay for services.
“Some patients cannot pay during treatment. We offer special discounts under that name. This facility costs around 80-90 million annually. Those who can pay do so, but something must be done for those who cannot,” Bhattarai said. “We sincerely hope the needy receive these benefits.”
He also shared that identifying genuinely poor patients is challenging.
“Some patients might have been airlifted by helicopter; relatives may have collected funds for their treatment. So there is confusion about whether to trust local representatives’ recommendations or not,” he added.
Government hospitals typically provide benefits based on recommendations from local authorities.
Dr. Sameer Kumar Adhikari emphasized, “Even if beds appear vacant, facilitation is given if patients have not received services due to documentation or other issues. We are working towards uniform guidelines to make free services more organized and centralized. There is no confusion that all institutions must provide free services to 10% of patients.”
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