The Bir Hospital said it has formed a 26-member rapid response team to handle medical emergencies and disaster-related incidents during the March 5 parliamentary election.

The step of the hospital is in line with the instruction by the Health Emergency Operation Centre of the Ministry of Health and Population, which has directed all hospitals across the country to remain on standby to deal with possible medical emergencies.

“We have formed a 26-member rapid response team, which comprises consultant doctors, health assistants, nurses, paramedics, pharmacists, among others,” said Dr Dilip Sharma, director at the hospital. “A rapid response team is required to deal with possible medical emergencies, as most health workers will be on leave on the public holidays.”

The government has declared public holidays on March 4, 5, and 6 to encourage people to return to their home villages to cast votes in the parliamentary elections. Officials at the hospital said that many health workers would take leave on the public holidays and some also return to their home constituencies to vote. This will increase workload to those serving in hospital emergencies.

“The rapid response team has been formed as a precautionary measure,” said Sharma. “Even if nothing happens, health workers need to remain on standby for management of possible medical emergencies.”

Dr Suresh Prasad Nepal, chief of Emergency Department of the Hospital will lead the rapid response team which comprised senior doctors of the hospital including Dr Min Chandra Adhikari, Dr Binod Serchan, Dr Anip Joshi, Dr Sudhamsu KC, Dr Ritu Pradhan , Sangita Shrestha and others.

Earlier the Ministry of Health and Population had alerted health workers serving in emergency departments at health facilities throughout the country about a possible influx of patients on election day and asked them to prepare accordingly.

“We have also directed them to form a rapid response team in all hospitals,” said Dr Prakash Budhathoki, spokesperson of the Health Ministry. “We have also formed a WhatsApp group of doctors. Health secretaries in respective provinces will guide health workers in districts and local units and consultant doctors will provide their expertise from center and provinces.”

Health officials say that past experiences show that the likelihood of scuffles, brawls, and fighting is high before, during, and after election day, which increases pressure on hospital emergency rooms.

Health officials say that other services, including outpatient care and non-emergency surgeries, will be suspended during the election holidays.

Earlier, the Health Ministry had asked the Election Commission not to deploy health workers on election duty. But despite the request, health workers have been deployed for election work. Health officials say the presence of health workers at polling stations would help improve coordination with health facilities in the event of accidents or violence.

Health camps will not be organised at polling stations on election day, unlike in past elections, officials say.

Along with the risk of a surge in hospital emergencies, the risk of spread of communicable diseases, including flu and other respiratory viruses, will be high due to crowding and increased mobility, according to health workers.

Public health experts and virologists in Nepal say March is the peak season for respiratory infections, and they warn that the number of new cases could surge after elections.

Every year, during the change of seasons, thousands of people across the country get infected with influenza viruses, which surge twice a year, in February-March and in October-November. Doctors say elderly people, children, and those with underlying health conditions—heart disease, renal problems, cancer, and diabetes, among others—are vulnerable to getting severe.

Seasonal influenza caused by regular viruses—A(H1N1), A (H3), influenza B (Victoria) and some others, are responsible for the current surge, according to doctors. The presence of a newly emerging variant of influenza A (H3N2), also referred to as subclade K(J.2.4.1), which has drawn global attention has also been confirmed in Nepal.