The Nepal Cleft and Burn Center, also known as Kirtipur Hospital, on Wednesday decided to expand its burn unit by eight beds. The decision came after all 35 beds, including 11 in the hospital's intensive care unit (ICU), were filled with severely burned patients.

'Burn victims are coming every hour,' said Dr. Shankarman Rai, senior consultant at the hospital, 'but we cannot easily expand the number of intensive care beds as we have increased the number of general beds.'

With the onset of winter, the number of patients in burn hospitals in the Kathmandu Valley has increased. The number of such patients has also increased due to the ongoing cold wave in many districts of the Terai. However, doctors say that the limited number of beds in the ICU has made it difficult to treat patients on time.  'We have a few beds available in the general wards, but there are no beds available in the intensive care unit,' said Dr. Piyush Dahal, chief consultant plastic surgeon at Bir Hospital. 'The number of people dying from burns is increasing every day, but the bed capacity is not increasing at the same pace.' Doctors have urged the public not to sit near fires even during extreme cold. They also suggested that the government should distribute warm clothes to the poor instead of firewood.

 'If we stay away from fire, the risk of burns is reduced,' said consultant plastic surgeon Dr. Ishwar Lohani. 'We should be careful while keeping ourselves warm. Special care should be taken of children and the elderly. They should be moved away from fire.'

Meanwhile, the weather forecasting division under the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology has said that the temperature may drop further in the coming days. The cold wave conditions in the Terai are likely to continue for the next few days, the division said. 

'Compared to Tuesday, visibility has improved in Dhangadhi today [Wednesday],' said Binu Maharjan, a meteorologist with the division. 'But these conditions will persist for the next few days.'

Health experts have warned the public not to take the fire lightly. The previous government had said that it would provide free care to burn victims. It had promised to reimburse the treatment costs to designated hospitals. But most health institutions have complained that they have not received compensation and that patients are forced to pay high treatment fees.

The hospitals designated for free treatment of burn injuries include Kirtipur Hospital in Bagmati Province, BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences in Koshi Province, Narayani Hospital in Madhesh Province; Pokhara Institute of Health Sciences in Gandaki Province, Bheri Hospital in Lumbini Province, Surkhet Provincial Hospital in Karnali Province; and Seti Provincial Hospital in Sudurpaschim Province.