Hospitals & Blood Banks Directory of Nepal: Contacts by Province

Public health care in Nepal is organised in tiers under the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) and its Department of Health Services (DoHS). At the top sit the federal (central) hospitals in the Kathmandu Valley — Bir Hospital, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Patan Hospital, Civil Service Hospital and Kanti Children's Hospital — which act as national referral centres. Since federalism was implemented under the 2015 (2072 BS) Constitution, the former zonal and regional hospitals have been handed to the seven provinces as provincial hospitals, while district hospitals and local health posts handle basic care in all 77 districts.

This page is a practical directory: for each major hospital it gives the location, type and telephone contacts, followed by the Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) blood-bank network. One caveat applies to every number listed: between roughly 2021 and 2023 (2078–2080 BS) Nepal Telecom migrated many Kathmandu Valley landlines to new prefixes — Bir Hospital's long-standing 01-4221119, for example, became 01-5321119 — so older directories often show dead numbers. In a life-threatening emergency do not hunt for a direct line; dial the national ambulance short code 102 or the MoHP health hotline 1115, or go straight to the nearest emergency department, which must provide first aid.

For the full set of police, fire, disaster and helpline codes, see amarnepal's companion guide, the Nepal Emergency & Helpline Numbers directory (police 100, ambulance 102, fire 101). The DoHS also publishes province-wise lists of public hospitals on its website (dohs.gov.np), the authoritative register when you need to confirm whether a facility is government-run.

Bir Hospital in Mahaboudha, central Kathmandu, is Nepal's oldest hospital, founded in 1889 AD (1946 BS) by Prime Minister Bir Shumsher with just 15 beds. Since 2003 it has been run by the National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS), a government postgraduate academy, and after the opening of its new surgical complex it is one of the country's largest tertiary hospitals. Its official contact numbers are 01-5321119, 01-5321988 and 01-5322865, and it offers general medicine, surgery, ophthalmology, hematology, geriatric care and most major specialties at heavily subsidised government rates.

Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) — the 'Teaching Hospital' at Maharajgunj — is the hospital of TU's Institute of Medicine. Established in the early 1980s and formally inaugurated on 7 March 1986 (2042 BS) with 301 beds, it has grown to roughly 850 beds according to the hospital's own profile, making it Nepal's leading referral and research hospital. The main line is 01-4512505 and the hospital lists 9851405475 for its ambulance service; its round-the-clock emergency department is among the busiest in the country.

Patan Hospital at Lagankhel, Lalitpur, established in 1982 AD (2039 BS) from the earlier Shanta Bhawan mission hospital, is now the teaching hospital of the Patan Academy of Health Sciences (PAHS) and is widely regarded for its emergency and general services; its main lines are 01-5422278 and 01-5422266. Civil Service Hospital at Minbhawan, New Baneshwor — built with Chinese assistance and inaugurated in 2009 AD (2065 BS) — serves civil servants and the general public alike through its 01-4107000 switchboard. Kanti Children's Hospital at Maharajgunj, established in 1963 AD (2020 BS) with Soviet support, is Nepal's only government children's hospital, with around 350 beds dedicated entirely to paediatric care; directories list 01-4411550 and 01-4413398 (verify the prefix, as Maharajgunj landlines were among those renumbered).

Outside the Kathmandu Valley, each province has one or more large government referral hospitals, most of them upgraded from the former zonal and regional hospitals after 2019 (2076 BS). These are where district hospitals send complicated cases, and they typically run 24-hour emergency departments, blood transfusion units, intensive care and a broad range of specialist outpatient clinics. The list below gives the flagship public hospital(s) of each province with verified contact numbers from official hospital websites.

Koshi Province is anchored by Koshi Hospital in Biratnagar, itself one of Nepal's oldest hospitals (established 1947 BS, around 1890 AD) and now expanded to roughly 350 beds. In Madhesh Province, Narayani Hospital in Birgunj and the Provincial Hospital in Janakpur share the referral load for the densely populated Tarai districts. Bagmati Province, besides the Kathmandu federal hospitals, relies on Bharatpur Hospital in Chitwan — about 585 beds — and Hetauda Hospital. Gandaki Province's hub is the Western Regional Hospital in Ramghat, Pokhara, run by the Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences with a capacity of about 500 beds.

In Lumbini Province, Bheri Hospital in Nepalgunj (around 150 beds in operation) serves as the historic referral centre for the mid- and far-western plains, alongside the Lumbini Provincial Hospital in Butwal. Karnali Province Hospital in Birendranagar, Surkhet, has been developed into a roughly 300-bed provincial referral hospital, complemented by the Karnali Academy of Health Sciences in Jumla for the high hills. Sudurpashchim Province depends on Seti Provincial Hospital in Dhangadhi, Kailali, a former zonal hospital upgraded to provincial status in 2076 BS (2019 AD).

Blood banking in Nepal is led by the Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS), founded in 1963 AD (2020 BS), which under the national blood policy is the designated provider of blood transfusion services for the country. The NRCS Blood Transfusion Service began in 1966 AD (2023 BS) through the pathology department of Bir Hospital — the country's first blood bank — and initially served only Kathmandu residents. Today the NRCS reports blood services at more than 100 locations covering over 70 of Nepal's 77 districts, all supplied by voluntary, unpaid donors.

The apex facility is the Central Blood Transfusion Service (CBTS), which manages supply for the Kathmandu Valley and sets technical standards for district centres. Long based at Bhrikutimandap in central Kathmandu, the central blood bank has been relocated to Balkumari, Lalitpur, so older references to the 'Bhrikutimandap blood bank' now point to the wrong place. Below the CBTS, regional blood transfusion centres operate in major cities including Biratnagar, Bharatpur (Chitwan), Pokhara, Nepalgunj and Dhangadhi, and district-level centres run by local Red Cross chapters — often alongside hospital-based blood banks — cover the rest of the network.

Blood is issued against a doctor's requisition form, and centres charge only a government-approved service fee that covers testing (all units are screened for transfusion-transmissible infections), storage and processing — the blood itself is donated free. Stocks of rare groups can run short, so blood banks commonly ask the patient's family to bring replacement donors; healthy adults aged 18–60 (roughly 45 kg or more) can donate every three months or so. Donor-matching apps and networks such as Hamro LifeBank and local blood donor societies can also help locate donors quickly when a bank has no stock.

For most emergencies in the Kathmandu Valley, the NRCS central blood bank at Balkumari, Lalitpur, is the primary source, with district Red Cross blood banks in Lalitpur (Pulchowk) and Bhaktapur handling local demand. Several large hospitals — including TU Teaching Hospital, Bir Hospital and Shahid Gangalal National Heart Centre — also run their own hospital blood-bank units for admitted patients, so ask the treating hospital first whether it can issue blood in-house before travelling to a Red Cross centre.

Phone numbers below are compiled from Red Cross chapter listings and widely used Nepali health directories; because valley landlines were renumbered in recent years, confirm by phone before dispatching a family member across town, or call the NRCS headquarters in Kalimati (01-5370650) to be redirected. Outside the valley, the fastest route is usually the regional blood transfusion centre or the district hospital's blood bank; the local Red Cross district chapter office can direct you to whichever holds stock.

When a patient needs blood, the treating doctor issues a blood requisition form stating the blood group, component (whole blood, packed red cells, platelets or plasma) and number of units. A family member takes this form — along with a sample vial if the hospital requests cross-matching at the bank — to the hospital's own blood bank or the nearest Red Cross centre. Carry the patient's identification and be ready to pay the service charge in cash; keep the receipt, as insurance schemes such as the national health insurance programme may reimburse it.

If the bank has no stock of the required group, do not lose time: ask the blood bank staff which nearby centre holds stock, mobilise relatives and friends as replacement or direct donors, and post the request to donor networks. Rh-negative groups are scarce in Nepal (the large majority of Nepalis are Rh-positive), so for negative groups start contacting donor societies immediately. In mass-casualty situations the NRCS runs emergency donation drives, and healthy bystanders can donate on the spot at collection centres.

Memorise three short codes: 102 for an ambulance, 100 for police and 101 for fire; all are toll-free and answered 24/7. The MoHP health hotline 1115 gives medical guidance and referral information. Because 102 dispatch coverage varies by district, many families call a hospital or Red Cross ambulance directly — TUTH lists 9851405475, and most provincial hospitals and municipal offices keep local ambulance rosters. The full national list, including tourist police, child and women helplines and disaster lines, is maintained in amarnepal's Nepal Emergency & Helpline Numbers directory.

Government hospital outpatient departments (OPDs) generally register patients only in the morning — most stop new registrations by around 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM — so arrive early with the patient's citizenship card or other ID. Emergency departments, by contrast, never close, and hospitals must give emergency first aid before asking about payment. Fees at government hospitals are modest: OPD tickets typically cost tens of rupees, and listed impoverished-citizen conditions attract additional government subsidies.

Finally, verify any phone number — including those here — before relying on it in a crisis, since numbers change with network migrations and new switchboards. Official hospital websites (most use .gov.np or .org.np domains) and the DoHS province-wise hospital list are the most reliable places to double-check. If a number fails, dial 102 or 1115, or simply move the patient to the nearest emergency department.