The Gorakhpur tragedy has taken a new twist with the District Magistrate's report stating that the children admitted in the encephalitis ward at the BRD Medical College hospital died due to the shortage of oxygen. Going by the hospital data of the first 30 deaths that occurred on August 10 and 11, only five were due to acute encephalitis syndrome and one was due to hepatic encephalopathy, which is related to AES (acute encephalitis syndrome). The other deaths were of terminally ill newborns. Some of them suffered from diseases like pneumonia, sepsis, and swine flu while others were preterm babies in a critical condition. While Gorakhpur has been in focus for deaths of innocent children, the time has come for our government to give a serious thought to the ailing healthcare systems around the country. Besides, the BRD Medical College hospitals where four children shared one bed, various primary health centres in and around Gorakhpur are in very bad shape.
Gorakhpur healthcare may not bear a direct comparison to Goa's, but it does call for a post-mortem of our health system. The new South Goa Hospital which has missed several deadlines, needs to be made a top priority in healthcare for the government. We have several smaller issues to address. Hospicio has been not in the best of health and there are constant issues with the hospital not being able to cope up with the number of in-patients. There are cases where patients have made the floor their bed as the hospital has been running beyond its capacity of 230 beds, purely on humanitarian grounds. The mortuary at Hospicio is long dead and the one at the TB hospital can accommodate only 20 bodies. Thankfully, our local MLAs have been providing mobile mortuaries to citizens reducing the inconvenience. There is shortage of doctors and facilities like MRI cannot be availed. At the Goa Medical College (GMC) too, the hygiene level inside may not be the best with dogs seen walking through the corridors and wards all day long. Its OPD is running beyond its capacity, putting a lot of pressure on the system.
Although the overall healthcare systems here are far better than most of the other States, Goa's primary health centres, some of which are in pathetic condition, need a shot in the arm. The focus should now be on providing better facilities. The government's move to allocate Rs 150 crore to set up a burns unit in GMC is welcome. Providing special healthcare facilities should be the way forward.
Gorakhpur healthcare may not bear a direct comparison to Goa's, but it does call for a post-mortem of our health system. The new South Goa Hospital which has missed several deadlines, needs to be made a top priority in healthcare for the government. We have several smaller issues to address. Hospicio has been not in the best of health and there are constant issues with the hospital not being able to cope up with the number of in-patients. There are cases where patients have made the floor their bed as the hospital has been running beyond its capacity of 230 beds, purely on humanitarian grounds. The mortuary at Hospicio is long dead and the one at the TB hospital can accommodate only 20 bodies. Thankfully, our local MLAs have been providing mobile mortuaries to citizens reducing the inconvenience. There is shortage of doctors and facilities like MRI cannot be availed. At the Goa Medical College (GMC) too, the hygiene level inside may not be the best with dogs seen walking through the corridors and wards all day long. Its OPD is running beyond its capacity, putting a lot of pressure on the system.
Although the overall healthcare systems here are far better than most of the other States, Goa's primary health centres, some of which are in pathetic condition, need a shot in the arm. The focus should now be on providing better facilities. The government's move to allocate Rs 150 crore to set up a burns unit in GMC is welcome. Providing special healthcare facilities should be the way forward.
