Construction of Dhalkebar Trauma Center Will Not Stop, Trauma Unit to be Immediately Operated in Lahan

August 10, Kathmandu.

While protests are ongoing demanding the construction of the proposed trauma center in Dhalkebar, Dhanusha, Health and Food Hygiene Minister Nisha Mehta has clarified that the construction process of the Dhalkebar Trauma Center will not be stopped.

She stated that since the construction of new structures will take time, for now, a trauma unit is being operated at the Provincial Hospital in Lahan. Responding in the House of Representatives on Monday, Minister Mehta said that the process for the construction of a Critical Care and Trauma Center in Dhalkebar has already moved forward.

According to Minister Mehta, to end the compulsion of bringing seriously injured citizens from accidents to Kathmandu for treatment, the government has simultaneously advanced immediate services and long-term infrastructure development. Since the Provincial Hospital in Lahan has basic infrastructure required for operating trauma services, including CT scan, necessary medical personnel, sufficient patient flow, and a blood bank, Minister Mehta stated that the decision has been made to immediately operate a trauma unit there.

‘Operating a trauma unit in Lahan is not an alternative to Dhalkebar,’ said Minister Mehta, ‘it is an interim and practical arrangement to provide immediate treatment to citizens until the new structure is completed.’

Minister Mehta said that expanding immediate services in one place while long-term health infrastructure is being built in another is not a contradiction. She stated that the government’s policy is to expand trauma centers and trauma units in various parts of the country as needed.

‘Our objective is one and the same – that citizens involved in accidents receive timely treatment and that the compulsion to travel to Kathmandu for treatment ends,’ said Minister Mehta.

Minister Mehta also urged public representatives and all concerned parties to cooperate in advancing the structure being built in Dhalkebar and creating an environment to immediately provide services to citizens from the available infrastructure.

For More: Dhalkebar Trauma Center Construction