# Bir Hospital Founded (1889)

URL: https://allhistories.com/nepal/timeline/1889-bir-hospital-founded
Location: Mahaboudha, Kathmandu
Themes: Health, Rana reforms

In 1889 Prime Minister Bir Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana founded a hospital in Kathmandu that was first named Prithvi Bir Hospital after the king. It began with 30 beds. Wikipedia describes it as the oldest district general hospital in Nepal, and its surgery department as the oldest in the country. Before it, health care in the kingdom depended on traditional healers, Ayurvedic practitioners and small clinics linked to the court and the British Residency. The hospital belonged to a group of improvements credited to Bir Shumsher, which also included water supply for Kathmandu in 1891 and for Bhaktapur in 1895. It served mainly the capital and its elites. The hospital grew to a capacity of 960 beds and in 2003 became a teaching hospital under the National Academy of Medical Sciences. It still faces financial strain and equipment problems. It stands as the most visible of the Rana-era institutions and remains one of the busiest public hospitals in Nepal. At this point in the timeline (1889), the Rana regime in Nepal was headed by Prime Minister Bir Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana (22 November 1885 – 5 March 1901), with King Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah (17 May 1881 – 11 December 1911) as the nominal monarch.

## Why it matters
It introduced the first modern public hospital to Nepal and still serves as a major teaching institution.

Ruler at the Time: [Bir Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana](https://allhistories.com/nepal/rulers/bir-shumsher-jung-bahadur-rana)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Bir Hospital](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bir_Hospital)
- [Wikipedia — Bir Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bir_Shumsher_Jung_Bahadur_Rana)