Responding to a writ petition filed by a group of lawyers, including Advocate Shree Krishna Subedi, a single bench of Acting Chief Justice Kalyan Shrestha ordered the defendants to furnish a clarification within 15 days as to why no steps were taken to curb the practice of charging arbitrary fees for basic health services.
The writ petitioners moved the apex court on Friday arguing that there is no adequate law related to monitoring fee for basic health services in the country.
“Even some concerned bodies, which are responsible for monitoring fee, have remained as mute spectators,” reads the writ petition. [break]
The petitioners have urged the SC to issue an appropriate order against the government to set up necessary mechanism in order to bring uniformity in fee for basic health services provided by private hospitals and nursing homes. They have accused private hospitals and nursing homes of imposing arbitrary fee on general public for basic health services.
The writ petitioners have also demanded that private hospitals and nursing homes should be classified on the basis of physical and technical facilities they provide.
Similarly, the writ petitioners have urged the apex court to order the government to develop government hospitals as effective medical service providers.
The petitioners have claimed that though the interim constitution has guaranteed health service as every citizen´s basic rights, the state has failed to provide even minimum health services.
The Prime Minister´s Office, Health Ministry, Department of Health, Nepal Medical Council and Nepal Medical Association are named defendants in the writ petition.
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