Minister for Health and Population, Pradip Paudel, inaugurated the IPD facility in the Children and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit at Kanti Children’s Hospital today, amidst a program. This marks the establishment of Nepal’s first dedicated Children and Adolescent Psychiatry facility. Minister Paudel observed the 16-bed IPD ward and discussed the facility provided by the department. Similarly, Minister Paudel also visited the Tele-Psychiatry Facility in the Unit which is also the only systematically running Tele-medicine facility in Nepal. Previously, an Adolescent Psychiatry Unit (IPD) was launched at the Mental Hospital in Lagankhel. CWIN-Nepal started the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service in Kanti Children’s Hospital in 2015, in cooperation with the hospital after the devastating earthquake.
The Children and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit at Kanti Children’s Hospital was initiated by CWIN-Nepal, in partnership with FORUT Norway, supported by Kanti Children’s Hospital, after the devastating earthquake of 2015. Initially, OPD services were provided within the Kanti building. However, in partnership with FORUT Norway and other agencies, a dedicated building for Children and Adolescent Psychiatry was constructed within the premises of Kanti, and OPD services have been offered from this new facility since January 2021.