BHAKTAPUR, Sept 18: A hundred years old state-owned Bhaktapur Hospital is operating without an ICU service and thereby creating unwarranted problems for patients, particularly those undergoing surgery. 

The government recently completed all necessary preparations for running a five-bed ICU unit under government's grant of Rs 15.5 million. 

Hospital Management Committee Chairman, Navaraj Golal, said the service was still not coming into operation despite establishment of a five-bed ICU unit with ventilator facility. 

"All preparations have been completed for running the ICU service; we only need to set up the machine, but the hospital administration has been causing the delay although our initial plan was to launch the service by mid-September," Golal shared. 

Patients have complained that the Bhaktapur Hospital, which was established after Bir Hospital, has turned into a referral centre in absence of an ICU service. 

Hospital Superintendent, Dr Hari Bahadur KC, claimed that the ICU service was not coming into operation due to lack of manpower. RSS