THE BEST HOSPITAL AWARD

- Dr. Roshan Raj Bista,

Award Ceremony

I can’t recall a time when tears rolled down my cheeks until I attended an award ceremony organized by Health Magazine, where Bayalpata Hospital (BH) received “The Best Hospital Award”. I discovered that tears could roll in happiness, when joy bursts out. This was the exact emotion I experienced at the ceremony. Chaired by the Honorable Minister for Health and Population along with renowned doctors of Nepal and well-known dignitaries, the hall of Everest Hotel was packed with hundreds of people and the event aired on the national news channel and worldwide. The hospital had been recognized, hard work was appreciated, and the award was dedicated to the dynamic Nyaya Health Team. 

The word ‘nyaya’, Nepali for “the realization of just systems”, is sufficient. The principle we carry and service we deliver is our working formula, which unites our staff, and the best is brought out for the patients visiting BH. Being part of this team is like a dream come true. 

Newspaper article clipping

I recall one memorable day in the past. It was around 5p.m. at the hospital, the end of a long day. The Health Assistants, nurses, and doctors were handing over their duties. Administrative and Community Health Department staff were also ready to go home, when we heard the ambulance with the siren on and jeeps honking in front of our Emergency Room (ER). There had been a jeep accident, and around 15 of the injured people were brought to our ER, which only had 5 beds. Even now I feel overwhelmed as I recall the moment where most of our staff were present to manage the casualties. We actually had more staff than patients.

Mattresses were kept on the floor, primary surveys, triage and first aid were done within minutes and the referral for the most serious cases was completed within an hour. I was amazed to see the staff motivated with unity. No one was free; everyone was doing something. Even the Community Health Department was coming to me and asking how they could contribute. We stabilized the situation so quickly that the Chief District Officer and police official who were present on the spot said they have not seen anything like that before at any hospital. This is how we work. Our mission is to provide quality care in a timely manner and create smiles on faces.

The babies who cry after birth with opened lungs, the kids breathing comfortably after pneumonia treatment, the children gaining weight after malnutrition treatment (making their parents and us happy), all make our hearts beat with joy. For every patient we put an extra effort to treat both allopathically and holistically. This is the reason why patients don’t feel tired walking up to seven days to reach our hospital, and why they don’t hesitate to queue up for the whole day to see the physician at 5p.m., despite knowing they have to walk a distance afterwards. This is the faith and belief people have shown in BH over the years. 

How a hospital in one of the poorest regions of Nepal is named the Best Hospital of Nepal signifies how well the healthcare delivery system is flourishing in the region. There was a time when a minor illness had people making trips by bus to Dhangadi (12 hours) or Nepalgunj (14-16 hours.) Not all of them were able to access healthcare then. Some would go for treatment, some would live with the illness, and some would die from the illness. This is not the case now. People can easily access healthcare by means of BH, without any social and economic barriers . The mission began with a clinic; now it’s a well-equipped hospital and we dream to progress with specialized services in the future. 

Dr. Roshan Bista, Dr. ShreeRam Tiwari and Dr. Sudan Thapa holding award

[ Dr. Roshan Bista graduated from the Institute of Medicine, Kathmandu with an MBBS. He is currently the Medical Officer at Nyaya Health.]

 
                    [We took this article from http://www.nyayahealth.org ]