MARGAO
It was at around 2.30 pm on Saturday that a lady senior citizen from Cuncolim had undergone a CT-scan, which showed congestion in her lungs, requiring hospitalisation.
Since then, the lady along with her relatives, literally hopped from one hospital to another, looking out for a bed, right from Vasco to Margao before she returned home late evening. Her plight was understandable with most of the city-private hospitals packed with patients to their capacity, while a huge queue of patients anxiously awaited admission in the South Goa district hospital.
The lady patient received a token with a number 140 indicating that there were patients anxiously waiting to get admission in the district hospital. “Our inquiries on the official numbers revealed that most of the beds in the hospitals, including private and government were full. There were some beds available at the Ponda sub district hospital, but before we could head to Ponda, the ESI hospital assured to arrange for a bed for the patient,” informed their relative.
Finally at 9 pm, the lady senior citizen reached the ESI hospital casualty, waiting to get admission, only indicating the bed shortage in the city which has seen a surge of Covid cases almost every day.
Sources at the district hospital informed that the hospital was packed with 500-odd patients on Saturday, while the ESI hospital was playing host to 200 patients at around 9.30 pm.
ESI hospital Medical Superintendent, Dr Vishwajit Faldesai informed that the hospital has put in additional 24 beds on Saturday, taking the capacity of the hospital to 230 beds, including six dialysis beds. Since a number of patients were waiting in the casualty seeking admissions, Dr Faldesai said the bed capacity may be exhausted later in the night.
Most of the city-based private hospitals were packed to the capacity with the bed capacity showing zero since afternoon.
