Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane and PWD minister Digambar Kamat at the inauguration of the Cardiac unit at the South Goa District Hospital. Santosh Mirajkar
MARGAO
Ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, the government on Friday inaugurated an MRI facility, an Echo cardiology facility, and cardiology and nephrology units at the Hospicio South Goa District Hospital, with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant asserting that the government does not discriminate between North and South Goa or among people on the basis of caste or religion.
Health Minister Vishwajit Rane announced that a catheterisation laboratory (Cathlab) would be commissioned at the hospital by December this year. The proposed facility will enable procedures such as angiography and angioplasty, paving the way for expanded cardiac care services in South Goa.
The government is also committed to establishing full-fledged orthopaedics and neurology departments and upgrading the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU), Rane said.
Inaugurating the new facilities in the presence of Rane, PWD Minister and Margao MLA Digambar Kamat, and other dignitaries, Sawant said the government was committed to providing world-class healthcare to the people of Goa.
“My government does not discriminate between districts or people. Following the inauguration of these units, doctors from Goa Medical College (GMC) will visit the outpatient departments (OPDs) at the district hospital three times a week. Today, the South Goa District Hospital is providing medical services on the lines of Goa Medical College. Only complex neurosurgical procedures that cannot be performed here are referred to GMC,” the Chief Minister said.
Sawant said the government was working to strengthen healthcare infrastructure across the State, including in South Goa and the newly created Kushavati district.
He pointed out that the South Goa District Hospital had a larger infrastructure than the North Goa District Hospital, commonly known as Azilo Hospital, and highlighted the nursing college already functioning in South Goa. “With the ESI medical college coming up in South Goa and the Ayush Hospital at Monte Hill being commissioned, the district will have access to advanced medical facilities,” he said.
The Chief Minister also highlighted other healthcare initiatives, including telemedicine services and plans to provide free varicose vein surgery at Bicholim. He said the Chief Minister’s Medical Assistance Scheme would extend financial support to patients requiring treatment for serious ailments, including cancer and kidney transplantation.
Rane, meanwhile, recalled the sustained efforts made by PWD Minister Digambar Kamat to expedite the establishment of the cardiology and nephrology units at the district hospital.
“We are continuously upgrading the district hospital with facilities such as a chemotherapy daycare centre, MRI and Echo cardiology services. The Chief Minister has approved the Cathlab, and the facility will be commissioned by the end of December,” the Health Minister said.
He added that the hospital had also initiated palliative care services and fatty liver screening, while a proposal had been mooted to upgrade its ICU facilities.
“Both the MRI facility and the Cathlab involve investments running into crores of rupees. Alongside infrastructure development, we have also taken steps to recruit doctors so that people from Margao, Salcete and the rest of South Goa receive the best possible healthcare,” Rane said.
The Health Minister further announced plans to introduce patient-care facilities and provide employment opportunities for students from allied health sciences courses before the upcoming Assembly elections.
Heritage Hospicio building to be refurbished for nursing college
MARGAO: The over 150-year-old Hospicio heritage building, from where Padre Miranda provided medical services, is set to play host to the nursing college currently functioning from the South Goa District Hospital, as the government looks to address the shortage of beds and space at the hospital.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has announced that the heritage structure will be renovated and refurbished to house the nursing college, allowing the entire South Goa District Hospital building to be utilised exclusively for patient care.
Sawant said all five floors of the district hospital would be put to medical use, including the addition of beds to accommodate the growing number of patients.
“The government has decided to shift the nursing college from the South Goa District Hospital to the old Hospicio building after renovating and refurbishing the heritage structure. Shifting the college will free up space at the district hospital and help address the existing space constraints,” the Chief Minister said.
However, Sawant did not specify a timeline for the renovation of the heritage building or the relocation of the nursing college, leaving uncertainty over whether the institution would move to the refurbished premises in the next academic year.
