Dhaulagiri Hospital still waiting for trauma centre a decade after announcement

Constituent Assembly member Hari Bahadur Khadka was seriously injured in a road accident near Baglung Bazaar. He was taken to Kathmandu for treatment but died on December 7, 2014. As Dhaulagiri Hospital in Baglung lacked facilities to treat head injuries, he could not receive timely treatment.

His death prompted discussions about establishing a trauma centre at the hospital. In 2015, the government incorporated a plan to establish the Hari Khadka Trauma Centre into its policy and programmes. However, a decade later, the centre has yet to become fully operational.

The hospital has been providing trauma care through a trauma unit for the past 10–11 years, but the plan to operate a separate centre has not materialised. The hospital still lists the Hari Khadka Trauma Centre in its long-term development plan. The hospital has already arranged equipment and specialist doctors for the proposed centre, said its chairperson, Shriprasad Sharma.