The BMH, which was situated thirty miles from Nepal’s border with India, opened in 1960 to look after the Gurkha soldiers serving in the recruiting depots, those on leave and the British staff and their families. The BMH with approximately seventy beds was not small by Nepalese standards, because at this time Nepal had very limited hospital services and indeed outside the main centres still has. With its high level of resources compared with government services, the BMH—not surprisingly—also treated the surrounding population and retired Gurkha soldiers and their families, who often travelled considerable distances over difficult terrain to obtain treatment
It lost some of its importance when the British removed the recruitment center but then the BMH (British Hospital) was converted into the B.P.Koirala Memorial Institute of Medical Sciences, one of the best in the country. It doubles as a hospital and college. Near by is the 18- hole golf course, which is in private hands today.
Examination of hospital records from BMH Dharan and the large Nepalese hospital at Biratnagar has revealed a worrying trend in the incidence of acute encephalitis in the area of the British Military Cantonment at Dharan.
During the summer of 1983, 1152 subjects were immunized against Japanese Encephalitis at BMH Dharan.
The malaria was resistant to chloroquine at the RI level, the first such case reported from BMH Dharan
