TU Teaching Hospital seeks loan to pay staffers

KATHMANDU, Jan 30: The Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), running in loss for several years, has sought loan from the Dean Office of the Institute of the Medicine (IOM) to pay salary to its staffers.

"We had asked for Rs 50 million but have only received 10 million from the Dean Office," Director of the TUTH Dr Keshav Prasad Singh said.

Singh also revealed that the hospital, which has five different bank accounts, has already used some money kept for other purposes.

"We have even used some money from the account of the Suresh Wagle Cancer Center," Dr Singh said. The center is yet to be built. The Maoist-led government gave Rs 50 million to build a separate cancer center at TUTH in the name of its martyred cadre Wagle. But the incumbent government has provided only Rs 10 million for the project this year.

The Tribhuvan University (TU) provides money to the TUTH for salaries, allowance and provident fund of permanent staff. "But we have not got any money from the TU for the current fiscal year. We are yet to get Rs 140 million the TU should give us for the staff´s salary," Dr Singh said. "We will pay back the loan and also return the money used from other accounts when we will receive money from TU," Dr Singh promised.

TU Vice-chancellor Dr Madhav Prasad Sharma said the University Grant Commission (UGC) has yet to provide the budget to the university for this fiscal year. "When we get money from the UGC, we will provide it to the hospital," Dr Sharma assured.

The TUTH has around 300 staffers hired on contract apart from the permanent ones who are paid by the TU. The hospital, that provides free treatment to patients in 80 out of the 480 beds, made a loss of well over Rs 180 million in the last fiscal year.

"The patients in the free beds get everything including food and medicine to radiology, lab tests and surgery free of cost," Dr Singh claimed. The hospital also has to give 50 percent discount on all services and medicines for all TU staffers working across the country, putting further strains on its finances.

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