700 General Beds of Bir Hospital free for general public

KATHMANDU, June 23: 700 general beds of the Bir Hospital will be provided free of cost starting Friday with the decision of the Executive Council of the National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS). Health and Population Minister Mohan Bahadur Basnet said that the decision was made because Bir Hospital is for the poor.

Before, Rs 200 was charged for a bed. From now on, no sick person will need to pay for a bed, said Minister Basnet.

Minister Basnet added that Bir Hospital will have to manage an amount of more than 50 million annually while making the beds free, which will be managed by the government and internal sources. However, charges will still be applied for cabins and ICUs.

The government on Thursday appointed Dr. Bhupendra Basnet as the Vice Chancellor, Dr. Lochan Karki as the Rector, Dr. Gyanendra Shah as the Registrar and Dr. Ashesh Dhungana as the Dean. Minister Basnet had a meeting with the newly-appointed office bearers on Thursday. The meeting of the NAMS Executive gave instructions to make the decision, and the Bir Hospital made the beds free based on the decision.