Huge infrastructure meant for the working class stands unutilized; ESI beneficiaries left with no option but to turn to dispensaries, government hospitals
THE GOAN NETWORK
MARGAO
In the 200-odd bedded ESI hospital at Margao, a lone UK returned woman stands isolated in the hospital as per the SOP in place for passengers after she showed symptoms of coronavirus.
In the last fortnight, not a single UK returned passenger was admitted in the ESI hospital, leaving the 200-bedded hospital meant for the working class totally unutilized since the hospital had stopped Covid admissions since December 10.
The hospital, however, cannot resume its full-fledged normal operations for the ESI beneficiaries for the sole reason that the district authorities have still not de-notified the hospital as a Covid hospital.
Even as the Health Minister gearing up to commission the South Goa district hospital after consultations with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, there seems no plan in place for the early resumption of services in the ESI hospital for the benefit of ESI beneficiaries.
It’s now a little over two months since the ESI, which was notified as the Covid hospital in March 2020 has accepted fresh admissions of Covid patients. After the Covid strain raised its ugly head in the UK, passengers returning from that country, who were showing signs of Covid were isolated in the ESI hospital pending arrival of their reports from Pune.
The Goan understands that all the 60-odd UK returned passengers who had tested positive for Covid have headed home after their test reports came back negative.
Doctors and staff manning the ESI hospital in private say the huge infrastructure meant for the working class either stand unutilized or under-utilized, more so after the ESI hospital stopped fresh admissions of Covid patients from December 10 last year.
If officials are to be believed, around 100 ESI beneficiaries used to avail OPD facilities at the ESI hospital every day before the South Goa district Collector requisitioned the hospital for Covid in March last year, first as a quarantine centre and later for a full-fledged Covid hospital. With the dedicated ESI hospital still not released for the normal operations, the beneficiaries have been left with no option but to turn to the dispensaries or to avail medical benefits in government hospitals.
During normal times, the ESI hospital’s bed capacity was put around 40-50 per cent on an average when the hospital bed capacity was pegged around 48-50, indicating that the beneficiaries used to available the medical benefits at the hospital.
An ESI beneficiary told The Goan that many a beneficiary has been left in the lurch during the COVID pandemic as they could not avail the medical facilities in their dedicated hospital.
“If the ESI hospital has stopped operations for Covid since mid-December, it’s in the fitness of things that the government release the hospital to facilitate the authorities to resume the normal operations,” the beneficiary added.
Labour officials echoed similar sentiments, pointing out that the ESI beneficiaries are justified in demanding resumption of normal operations in the hospital meant for the working class if the government has stopped fresh admissions in the hospital. “If the government no longer requires the ESI hospital for Covid, the hospital should be immediately released back to the ESI to facilitate resumption of normal operations,” remarked a labour official.
