Kathmandu, May 15
Bir Hospital has begun providing treatment services for rheumatic diseases.
Dr. Bhupendra Basnet, director at the hospital, said they felt the need to start treatment services after the number of patients suffering from rheumatic diseases increased at the hospital. “We began providing treatment services for rheumatic diseases since the Nepali New Year,” he said adding that although the number of patients suffering from such diseases is increasing, hospitals lack sufficient specialist doctors.
“The hospital has hired Dr. Anjal Bishta, a doctor who recently returned from abroad after completing studies, to provide treatment services for rheumatic diseases,” said Dr. Basnet. Currently, the hospital has been providing treatment services to 15 to 20 patients.
Dr. Bishta, the rheumatologist at the hospital, said most of the cases the hospital received were referral cases, while nearly 15 to 20 people suffering from rheumatic diseases visited the hospital’s outpatient department. Rheumatic diseases are characterized by inflammation that affects the connecting structures of the body, most commonly the joints, but also sometimes the tendons, ligaments, bones, and muscles.
“Due to lack of awareness rheumatic diseases are ignored, but this results in severe health complications among people,” said Dr. Bishta.
