Nov 30, Kathmandu - OPD services are operating in two shifts at Dadeldhura Hospital. In order to increase and manage the patient load and the facilities provided by the hospital, OPD services have been resumed in the morning and evening hours.

Earlier, when OPD services were operated in a single shift, patients faced problems in waiting in line, getting tickets, and getting treatment. When OPD services were closed after 2 pm, patients from seven hilly districts of the Far West were forced to get emergency tickets or go to the hospital the next day.

For the first time, after the hospital got the 11th-level medical superintendent as the head of the post, OPD service was provided in double facilities based on the patient's condition and time. OPD service used to be closed after 2 pm at Dadeldhura Hospital, which is under the federal government. With the recent introduction of OPD service in two shifts, the obligation to cut emergency tickets for patients has come to an end, informed the hospital's medical superintendent Dr. Sudha Devkota. She said, "Now patients can be treated easily at the OPD at any time."

Dr. Devkota said, "There was a situation where patients who reached the hospital after 2 pm were not able to get tickets. When the doctor or medical officer in the OPD said that he would not see them, they were not able to get tickets and were forced to go elsewhere. To eliminate this situation and to ensure that patients can get treatment during office hours at any time, the treatment service has been expanded by operating the OPD service in two shifts."

According to her, currently, the OPD service is available in the first shift until 12:30 pm and the second shift from 1:30 pm. She said that the second shift OPD is being operated for one and a half hours in the winter and two hours in the summer, with an hour for lunch in between.

After noon, patients from far away from the hospital are also getting simple treatment services. She said that the hassle of having to pay a ticket of one hundred rupees in emergencies has also been eliminated. Dadeldhura Hospital is the only hospital under the federal government in the Far West Province with special specialist doctor services.

However, there are complaints that patients are not getting easy treatment due to the lack of specialist doctors as per the posts. According to the Medical Board, currently there are 19 specialist doctors and 25 medical officers working in the hospital. The main problem is the number of children who come here. The hospital will get a pediatric specialist doctor soon, said Dr. Devkota.