MARGAO
Now, caretakers of Covid patients housed at the ESI Covid hospital, Margao have a question or two for the Health Minister Vishwajit Rane to answer “ who will arrange food for them in the hospital with the contractor stopping food supplies to the caretakers from Thursday.
Sources in the ESI hospital informed that the contractor roped in by the government to supply food to the patients stopped providing food to the caretakers of the Covid patients. Take note, unlike the past, when the patients had to fend for themselves, around 100 caretakers are presently in the Covid hospital, taking care of their relatives, undergoing treatment in the Covid hospital.
Sources pointed out that the contractor stopped the food supply to the caretakers and only supplied food to the patients undergoing treatment in the hospital. As the situation raised questions how the caretakers are expected to take care of their food requirements, ESI officials later allowed the caretakers to procure outside food.
Given the situation, many a caretaker tried calling their relatives and friends with a plea to make the food arrangements following the decision of the contractor to supply food only to the patients.
The situation further assumed significance and comes against the backdrop of the fact that the ESI Covid hospital had stopped entry for outside food to the patients and the caretakers.
When The Goan contacted ESI hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Vishwajit Faldesai to shed light on the scenario, he said the contractor had stopped supply of food to the caretakers due to some issue between the contractor and the government. “Since the catering contractor had taken up the work of supplying food to the Covid hospital, food was provided for both the patients and their caretakers. The contractor, however, has stopped the food supply to the caretakers from today because of some issues with the government,” he said.
Dr Faldesai, however, said the ESI hospital has now allowed the caretakers to procure their food requirements from outside till a solution is found to the issue. “The caretakers can now get outside food. Arrangements has been made at the hospital so that the food brought for the caretakers reaches them,” he said.
Incidentally, caretakers were provided food along with the patients by the ESI hospital before the contractor took over the operations. Sources, however, said that unlike the past when only a couple of caretakers used to attend to the patients, around 100 caretakers are presently attending to the patients.
