NEPALGUNJ, MAY 22

Who under the sun doesn't panic to see someone undergoing treatment close to them in the same ward pass away in front of their eyes? 'When someone being treated just next to us dies, it unnerves us and gets us worried about the well-being of our own patient. To the patient itself, any death apparently dents his/her confidence,' said a man who came to Bheri Hospital from Dang for the treatment of his COVID-infected wife.

Every day, around 15 patients in critical condition lose their lives in the course of treatment at Bheri Hospital. In the face of increased pressure of patients, the hospital is treating COVID patients by managing additional beds in every empty space available. Currently, it has over 60 patients in a single ward.

To keep patients, wards have been set up in three big halls.

'As the hall is open and everyone here sees every other person. We have to see people dying almost every day. Everyone can imagine how such deaths rattle us, both the patients and their kin, causing them to lose confidence,' said the kin of another COVID patient.

Karkado's Chandra Oli of Nepalgunj sub-metropolis spent 17 days at the hospital for treatment. 'There were 23 others in his ward, and I had to see them suffer due to the disease and die. As there were no curtains or anything between patients, we had to see them.

When somebody died, others would sleep facing the other side to avoid seeing the body,' recounted Oli.

A version of this article appears in the print on May 23, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.