However, hospitals named after the deceased leaders of major political parties like Nepali Congress and CPN-UML or in which influential leaders of those parties have invested have received huge grants from the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP).According to its own report, MoHP has provided Rs 589.5 million in grants to 37 hospitals in the ongoing fiscal year, and the leaders of the ruling Nepali Congress and CPN-UML have stakes in a majority of these.
Officials at MoHP said that the amount provided to those hospitals is almost twice the annual grant for Bir Hospital. Bir provides treatment to over 350,000 patients every year, including 75 percent free treatment to indigent patients.
Authorities at Bir said that it has to struggle to pay the salaries of its staff and has been running into debt. "MoHP has provided us an additional grant to pay staff salaries but we are still in debt," Dr Swyam Prakash Pandit, director at Bir, said adding that the hospital owes over Rs 50 million to contractors supplying medicines and accessories.
However, MoHP does not even bother to inquire about the number of patients in hospitals in which the political leaders have invested. The ministry also does not take any notice how many patients are benefiting from its largess. Source at MoHP said investors and employees at those hospitals even draw bonuses from these funds.
A list provided by the ministry shows that hospitals in which leaders of the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML have shares took Rs 100 million in grants this year.
According to MoHP, Mahendra Narayan Nidhi Hospital received Rs 50 million in grant from MoHP. Bimalendra Nidhi, son of the late NC leader Mahendra Narayan Nidhi, is minister for physical infrastructure and transport management. Likewise, the Susma Koirala Memorial Trust received Rs 10 million in MoHP grant. GP Koirala Center for Respiratory Diseases took Rs 20 million, and the BP Memorial Hospital, Rs 10 million.
Similarly, Puspalal Hospital run by Janswastya Sarokar Trust received Rs 40 million. BP Eye Foundation received Rs 10 million, Manamohan Community Hospital Rs 50 million, National Kidney Center Rs 50 million and the Sahid Memorial Hospital, Jhapa received Rs 10 million. Sahid Memorial Hospital, Kathmandu took Rs 50 million.
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