The Association of Private Health Institutes of Nepal has directed all member hospitals to suspend outpatient department services across the country, allowing only emergency care to continue. The shutdown aligns with an ongoing protest by the Nepal Medical Association demanding amendments to the Health Workers and Health Security Act, 2066, and its 2079 amendment. The organisations argue that the existing legal framework does not adequately protect health workers or regulate health security standards.
With private facilities handling the majority of Nepal’s outpatient load, the suspension has left thousands of patients without access to routine medical care. Individuals requiring dialysis, chemotherapy, psychiatric medication, and post-operative follow-up have been turned away from hospital doors, as administrators interpret the emergency-only directive strictly. The distinction between emergency and non-emergency care has proven difficult to enforce in practice, leaving chronic patients in a precarious grey zone.
The government had not issued a public statement or response by Tuesday evening, leaving patients, hospital administrators, and striking doctors uncertain about whether negotiations are underway behind closed doors or if the administration has been paralysed by other concurrent institutional crises. The silence is particularly notable given that a prolonged shutdown threatens to escalate into a broader public health emergency.
The protest raises fundamental questions about the ethics of using patient access as leverage in a labour dispute. Unlike strikes in other sectors, the denial of medical care carries immediate life-or-death consequences. Neither APHIN nor the NMA has ruled out extending the shutdown to emergency services if their demands remain unaddressed. For rural populations, where private clinics often represent the only accessible medical facility within a day’s travel, the closure poses severe risks. The organisations have stated that the government bears full responsibility for any harm resulting from the situation.