The ESI Hospital in Margao.
MARGAO
Covid warriors, attached to the Margao ESI hospital, are back to Covid duties after a fortnight-long break, with as many as 37 UK passengers, who had tested positive for Coronavirus being admitted to the hospital.
Responding to the call of duty, ESI Medical Superintendent, Dr Vishwajit Faldesai, his team of medical officers and health care workers are all back to Covid duties in the hospital, with the government once again notifying the ESI hospital as a designated institutional quarantine centre for UK returned passengers who have tested positive for Covid-19.
The ESI hospital began admitting UK-returned passengers since Christmas day and as on Sunday had 37 patients, mostly UK-returned passengers.
As of today, the ESI Hospital doctors and paramedics are attending to the Covid patients admitted in the hospital as per the government communique. The hospital, however, is looking forward to the government to depute doctors and staff from the Directorate of Health Services and the Goa Medical College and hospital, Bambolim.
Earlier this month, the ESI hospital had relieved consultants, doctors and paramedics from the GMC as well as the Health Services after the hospital had stopped accepting fresh patients from December 10.
The ESI hospital had already started a clean-up of the hospital premises, including painting and sanitizing of the entire premises, ahead of throwing it open to the ESI beneficiaries.
Sources in the know have questioned the government’s rationale in admitting the UK-returned passengers to the ESI hospital when the hospital was gearing up to throw the hospital doors open for ESI beneficiaries.
That’s not all. Sources in the know informed that since the South Goa district hospital will be the lone dedicated Covid hospital in the district, the government ought to have opened the top two floors of the district hospital to admit the UK returned passengers instead of blocking the ESI hospital for the ESI beneficiaries.
