Attaria, Jan. 3: Seti Provincial Hospital established in 1939 BS as a primary hospital is the only government referral hospital in Sudurpashchim Province.

Seti Provincial Hospital, upgraded from 25 beds to 50 beds during King Birendra’s visit to the erstwhile Far Western Development Region in 1983, has received the approval to upgrade it to a 125-bed hospital from the then government.

The federal government upgraded the Seti Regional Hospital as a provincial-level hospital and handed it over to the provincial government in 2018. Although the hospital has completed 84 years of its establishment, the hospital still lacks the required manpower, infrastructure and equipment.

People of the Far Western region are often deprived of general health care, as they are not able to attain quality and convenient health services and facilities from government hospitals. People of this region still have to go to India for complex treatment, as there are situations where patients have to wait up to a year for an operation. 

Due to the lack of permanent manpower in the hospital, doctors have been appointed on a contract and wage basis.  Dr. Sher Bahadur Kamar, acting Medical Superintendent of Seti Provincial Hospital, said, “Owing to the surge in the number of patients, the hospital had been operating with a capacity of 302 beds before obtaining the approval of the government for the additional beds.”

Kamar said that in the fiscal year 2022/23, the hospital treated 235,318 patients in the OPD. Although the permanent manpower in the hospital is only for 50 beds, the Hospital Development Committee has hired 75 additional manpower. The hospital has the manpower to operate only 125 beds and 14 departments. 

“Seti Provincial Hospital caters Surgery Department, Medicine-Cardio Department, Paediatric Department, Orthopaedic Department, Obstetrics Department, Dermatology Department, Anaesthesia, Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Department, Dental Department, Emergency Department, Radiology Department, Forensic Department, Pathology and Mental Disease Department,” informed Kamar.

There are 36 beds for medicine, 48 beds for surgery, 30 beds for paediatrics and NICU, and 75 beds for obstetrics available at the hospital. Similarly, there are an additional 20 beds in the emergency room, 15 beds in observation, 15 beds in ICU, four beds in HDU, 20 beds in dialysis, 10 beds in NRH, one bed in the cabin, nine beds in NICU and 20 beds in the proposed post-operation ward. 

There is a shortage of radiologists and anaesthesiologists in the hospital. Although an anaesthesiologist is needed for surgery and a radiologist is needed for diagnosis, only two radiologists and anaesthesiologists are working in the hospital. The hospital said that despite advertising for radiologists and anaesthesiologists, no application was received.

Dr. Kamar informed that the hospital currently has 367 human resources including permanent staff and those working on a contract and wage basis.

 “The hospital needs at least 770 employees to function at the full scale. This hospital’s main challenge is lack of manpower and equipment,” said Kamar. Even though the provincial government has plans to upgrade the hospital to 200 beds, the Management Survey has not yet been conducted. The construction of the hospital building has not been completed.

Nar Bahadur Shah, Chairman of the Hospital Development Committee, said that the hospital was facing problems in catering services at present. Still, new hospital buildings are being constructed without providing the minimum number of manpower. 

The Ministry of Social Development has said that the hospital improvement and upgrading work has begun from the upgradation of Seti Provincial Hospital. 

Jhapat Bahadur Saud, Social Development Minister of the Sudurpashchim Province, said that the ministry has started the work of improving and upgrading the hospital of the Province starting from Seti Provincial Hospital.

Minister Saud said that the Organisation and Management Survey of Seti Provincial Hospital would be conducted within the current fiscal year. 

“The plan has been moved forward to establish a medical college in Seti Hospital. The goal is to teach paramedics, MDs and MS soon,” Saud said.