“The patients are being treated on the floor and on trolleys for lack of beds,” said nursing in-charge of the emergency ward, Kalpana Pokharel.
Most of the patients receiving emergency care are children and the elderly suffering from pneumonia. “They have respiratory problems due to dust and smoke and colds,” said Pokharel.
Doctors claim that the emergency ward is also bearing the brunt of the lack of adequate beds in other wards and departments at the 700-bed hospital as this has prevented transfer of patients away from emergency. “Patients have to be kept in emergency for four or five days as beds in the relevent departments and wards are already taken,” said in-charge of the emergency ward Dr Gyanendra Malla. “In this situation, we have no option other than to leave them on the floor,” he said.
Patients have to be either discharged or transferred to other wards within 24 hours but doctors have not been able to transfer even critical patients to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for lack of beds there. “There are four critical patients in the emergency ward who need to be taken to the ICU. But they are being treated here,” Pokharel complained.
The emergency ward is running well over its capacity of 70-80 patients and is receiving around 150 new patients daily. This overflow has also stretched the 20 or so doctors in emergency. “We need around 35 doctors to handle all these patients,” Dr Malla added.
BPKIHS say that the pressure of patients also has much to do with unnecessary referrals. “Patients are referred to BPKIHS even though they can be treated at primary level and at district and zonal hospitals,” explained hospital director Dr BP Das.
He said the hospital has to cater to around 2,500 people in the outpatient department (OPD) daily as against its capacity for 1,500.
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