Kathmandu, April 27 -- Seriously ailing patients seeking emergency care at Lumbini Provincial Hospital need to be prepared to share a bed with at least two other patients, as the hospital has been experiencing a massive influx of patients of late.

As the maximum temperature crossed 38 degrees Celsius, triggering heatwave conditions in many parts of the Tarai region, health facilities reported a rise in cases of waterborne, foodborne, and vector-borne diseases, and viral fever.

"We have been placing at least three patients in a single bed in the emergency department of our hospital," said Dr Indra Dhakal, the medical superintendent. "It is not our choice, but we cannot deny treatment to any of the seriously ailing patients."

This was a ...