Health Minister Pradeep Poudel’s announcement: Increase in health budget, neurology treatment center to be established in Kathmandu
Health and Population Minister Pradeep Paudel has announced a long-term plan for improving the health sector.
At a press conference held at the Ministry on Sunday, Minister Paudel announced a long-term plan for improving the health sector.
Health and Population Minister Pradeep Paudel has presented his plans for reforming the health sector at a press conference 27 days after assuming office.
Minister Poudel has proposed to increase the amount of money in the health insurance program from 1 lakh to 5 lakh and said that a well-equipped neurological disease treatment center will be established in the capital as soon as possible. Minister Paudel has put forward a plan to integrate all the programs of mother protection program, drug treatment program for poor citizens and free treatment and add it to insurance.
He said that a long-term plan has been brought with the 16th plan and sustainable development goals at the center. Which is the old plan. Paudel said that human organ transplant centers will be established in all seven provinces, drug prices will be adjusted and the capacity of the drug administration department will be strengthened.
Similarly, he has put forward plans such as providing free treatment for burns in hospitals under the state and federation, free health examination of players once a year. Minister Paudel said that suggestions have been collected from experts in the health sector to implement these plans.
He said that for the implementation of the plan, suggestions were taken from experts in the health sector including the former health minister, former health secretary, former director general, former head of the division, representatives of health sector stakeholders, organizations and leaders, current employees, hospital directors, media persons and private sector and development partners.
Minister Poudel said, “In order to make the system of premium and co-payment based on income systematic and scientific, the policy and legal system of insurance will be reviewed”.
He presented some resource assurance plans saying that it would take 40 billion rupees to operate the insurance effectively.
According to Minister Paudel, increasing the health tax fund, imposing mandatory tax on food and beverages used in sugar products, treatment fund of various organized organizations will be linked with the health insurance fund.
He said that all programs of free treatment, except for emergencies, will be included in insurance and will be provided to health institutions for free treatment through subsidy insurance.
He said that a nerve disease treatment center will be established in Kathmandu. Shaheed Gangal National Heart Center will be expanded to 500 beds, the infrastructure of Kanti Children’s Hospital will be increased and ICU services will be fully operational immediately.
Likewise, Minister Poudel said that the manpower will be regularly reviewed and arrangements will be made to fill vacant posts. He also told about the plan to send doctors who studied on scholarship to rural areas.
Minister Poudel said, “We will provide incentive allowances to doctors and health workers based on performance and review other facilities and make necessary corporate and legal arrangements for their implementation”.
He made it clear that regular review of the human resources and arrangements for the filling of posts, necessary arrangements will be made to connect the skills and competencies of the health workforce who are gaining expertise and experience outside of Nepal with the health system of Nepal.
Similarly, he said that resources for building and operating basic health institutions are not guaranteed and health institutions that are incomplete will be gradually managed and moved forward.
He said that work will be done to eliminate the need to wait in long queues by expanding the service of the federal hospital and expanding the surgical capacity of the hospital.
‘To make the OPD service effective, the central hospital has started providing services in two shifts’, Minister Paudel said, ‘Now we have planned to work in two shifts by adding incentive allowances to health workers to end the situation of having to wait for surgery.’
Minister Poudel said that health workers who are in trouble due to adjustment will be posted, they will be managed in hospitals according to the performance of doctors and an integrated health service law will be formulated for health manpower management.
He informed that Minister Paudel will coordinate with the Medical Education Commission and the Ministry of Education to study nursing in government hospitals with more than 100 beds, undergraduate and postgraduate programs in government hospitals with more than 300 beds.
He claimed that the new policies and programs brought by the ministry would be implemented in coordination with the government and with the help of donors, as some resources were not guaranteed.
There are some programs that do not have a budget. We will find their source and take action,” Minister Paudel said.
According to Minister Paudel, coordinating with the local level and the commission to provide services from MDGP and MBBS doctors at the local level, completing the construction of incomplete health institutions, coordination with the state and local levels in the health institutions that have been completed, manpower and equipment will be arranged.
Similarly, he has announced to formulate a replacement bill for the Medicines Act, to make legal arrangements to bring together the work of the Hospital Development Committee, and to introduce an Umbrella Act for Health Sciences Academy.
The Minister has also announced the creation of standards for the purchase of health materials, the implementation of Jail without Bail, the formulation of the Quality Authority Act, and the amendment of the Infectious Diseases Act, 2020.
To eliminate the shortage of heart surgeons, Minister Poudel informed that the training of cardiac specialists in Gangalal, the amendment of the Tobacco Control and Regulation Act, 2068, and the preparation of health promotion and communication strategies.