Twenty-eight-year-old Bindu Bishwokarma of Namdu recently gave birth to a baby. She had a risky delivery, full of complications, that nearly took her and her unborn baby’s lives.

However, thanks to a timely caesarean section by the doctors at Charikot Hospital, Bishwokarma and her baby were saved.

Dr Binod Dangal, a doctor at the hospital, said Bindu’s uterus had ruptured during the labour.

“It’s a rare but serious childbirth complication that can occur during vaginal birth,” said Dangal.

Quality medical care at government-run hospitals in rural Nepal is rare to find because of a shortage of employees at these health facilities, the remoteness of their location and a lack of budget. The absence of good hospitals in remote areas has compelled many service seekers to travel to urban areas for treatment, but not all can afford to do so.

However, Charikot District Hospital, in three and a half years of its establishment, has managed to provide quality medical care free of cost, especially in maternity services.

“Bindu’s surgery was a success, and we take this as an achievement,” said Dangal.

The hospital has been providing free delivery services—including caesarean— and free medicines and meals to the residents of Namdu and its surrounding areas.

Bal Bahadur Bishwokarma, Bindu’s husband, said he was at a loss when Bindu’s condition had started to deteriorate.

“I didn’t have the money to take her to a private hospital in a city. But when doctors at the district hospital told me that they would take care of my wife and my baby, I was relieved,” said Bal Bahadur.

According to the hospital data, 2,700 women have opted for institutional delivery at the hospital in the last three and a half years. As per the record of the hospital, around 300 patients receive treatment from the hospital daily.

Every day, three to five pregnant women arrive at the hospital for delivery.

“Around 252 women with delivery complications have undergone C-section in the hospital,” said Dangal.

The provincial government plans to upgrade the 25-bed hospital to a 51-bed hospital. The government has been providing the required infrastructure, medicines and human resources to deliver effective services to the patients. Bharat KC, mayor of Bhimeshwor Municipality, said they had requested the federal and provincial governments to establish a high-dependency unit and intensive care unit in the hospital.