Kathmandu: Minister for Health and Population Pradeep Paudel has described the Paropakar Maternity and Women’s Hospital, a specialized hospital for women’s health, as a national heritage that connects the lives of millions of mothers and children in the country. Addressing an event organized to celebrate the 66th anniversary of the Thapathali-based hospital, Minister Paudel asserted that the hospital stands as a witness to Nepal’s development in the health sector. “I am confident that the neonatal screening and milk bank initiated by the hospital would significantly contribute in reducing the neonatal mortality,” he stated.
According to National News Agency Nepal, the Health Minister expressed his confidence that the reestablished IVF service in the hospital would play a leading role in successfully implementing the infertility treatment standards introduced by the government. He pledged to add 11 additional beds to make the hospital a 500-bed health facility. Furthermore, he informed that preparation was underway to forge an agreement to build two 25-bed satellite maternity hospitals in two municipalities of Kathmandu Metropolitan City to manage the increasing patient flow in the Kathmandu Valley.
He assured that gynecology-related diseases, the Safe Motherhood and Newborn Programme would be incorporated into the national health insurance scheme. Likewise, Shree Prasad Adhikari, Director of the Hospital, shared that the referral rate among the patients had been reduced due to robotic surgery in gynecological surgeries, mental health OPD services, and fetal and maternal echocardiography services being rendered by the hospital.
Adhikari reported that around 21,000 deliveries were conducted last fiscal year alone while more than 233,000 service-seekers availed services from the Outpatient Department during that period. He also mentioned that 8,693 service-seekers received infertility-related services through the OPD in the last fiscal year. A total of 298 women availed Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) services and 43 received IVF (In-Vitro Fertilization) services in that year.
Around 2,000 newborns have been tested through neonatal screening tests so far, and among them, 20 newborns were diagnosed with various disorders. According to Adhikari, this test has facilitated the diagnosis of genetic disorders in fetuses and unborn babies. The Paropakar Maternity and Women Hospital currently is the only central specialized hospital for women’s health and operates with 489 beds. It was established by the Paropakar Sanstha on Shree Krishna Janmastami with just 40 beds on Bhadra 10, 2016 BS.