Dr Koirala, who had submitted his resignation a few weeks ago citing government indifference and lack of cooperation from senior staff at the hospital, has told some colleagues that he would withdraw his resignation if his key demands are fulfilled. [break]
Dr Koirala has urged the concerned authorities to clear the hurdles that make the work of director difficult or free him by accepting his resignation. Due to intense pressure from the employees at the hospital and the public, the government and the TU authority had decided to fulfill some of the key demands forwarded by Dr Koirala.
"Dr Koirala has taken leave for some days. We are still working to resolve the problems," said Hira Bahadur Maharjan, TU´s Vice Chancellor (VC). He said that the TU will not accept Dr Koirala´s resignation but fulfill some of his key demands as soon as possible.
He said that the meeting of the TU´s Executive Council will be called soon to respond Dr Koirala´s demands. "Our registrar is not in the capital. After he arrives, we will call a meeting of the executive council to extend the budget ceiling for Institute of Medicine (IoM)," Maharjan said.
The TU has agreed to extend the ceiling to up to Rs 10 million. Currently, the IoM can spend up to Rs 3.5 million without prior approval from the TU authority. Due to such constraints, the IoM cannot spend money even on serious issues on time. The TUTH is a teaching hospital under IoM.
The TU authority has also agreed to provide more administrative rights to IoM. The TU authority has also agreed to implement employee transfer policy as sought by Dr Koirala. Dr Koirala had sent the names of some of the staffers, including senior professors, who had been creating obstacles in his mission, to the TU authority seeking their transfer from the hospital. As per the existing rules, the TU can transfer senior level employees every three years and junior employees every five.
Krishna Hari Baskota, secretary at Prime Minister´s Office (PMO), said the government has already asked the Ministry of Finance to release the fund to TUTH. "I have already asked the officials at the Finance Ministry to release the money as committed by the government," said secretary Baskota. He hoped that Koirala would resume the office within few days.
Professor Arun Sayami, the previous dean of IoM, said that due to the change in government, it is impossible now to appoint a new Director at TUTH. "Once the date of election is set, even the government cannot appoint new head of TUTH. So Dr Koirala has to retract his resignation," he added.
Koirala had been appointed as the director some four months ago to give a fresh lease of life to the hospital that had been plagued by chronic mismanagement and political interference.
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