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Tuesday night’s incident at Hospicio has once again brought to the fore the ills plaguing the district government hospital. While the late night storm and uproar at the hospital over the ailing condition of the ambulance has died down, inquiries have brought to light that Hospicio is not only facing an acute shortage of medical officers, but it also lacks in infrastructure, including ambulances. Promises made by Health Minister Francis D’Souza around a year ago to dispatch a fleet of ambulances to replace the ageing vehicles and beef up the strength of the medical officers have not changed the ground reality yet.
Hospicio authorities claimed that the said ambulance, which simply refused to budge when the burn patients were awaiting transportation to Goa Medical College and hospital, Bambolim, was in fact in working condition just an hour and half ago when it was checked by the driver at 8 pm. They, however, have no idea how the ambulance refused to start. The authorities are all aware that the ambulance in question has outlived its utility long ago, but have, however, refrained from condemning it for want of a replacement.
Inquiries by The Goan have revealed that there are only two ambulances at the disposal of Hospicio hospital, and all requisitions made by the hospital are still pending with the government. A senior Hospicio official said that the incident of the ill-fated ambulance which kicked up a row on Tuesday night has indeed outlived its utility, and the same was repaired so as to ensure it was in working condition, and this was done as new ambulances have not been forthcoming from the government.
“Of the two ambulances with Hospicio, one has to be condemned, but we cannot do so for want of a replacement. But, in times of emergencies, we fall back on the 108 ambulance services,” the official said, and emphasised that a dedicated ambulance facility is a dire necessity for a big hospital like Hospicio.
With no sign of the government ambulances, Hospicio and other nearby medical centres are now banking on the local MPs to make available a couple of ambulances by utilising MPLAD funds. Though the MPs have agreed in principle to hand over a dozen ambulances, the actual delivery is expected to take some time, sources added.
Hospicio is also facing a shortage of drivers, with the hospital now running the show with drivers requisitioned from nearby health centres.
“Though the number of sanctioned drivers is 11, Hospicio only has around seven drivers at the moment,” the official added.
When Health Minister Francis D’Souza handed over mattresses to Hospicio authorities that were sponsored by industrialist Nana Bandekar and others under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) a couple of months ago, hopes were raised that the government would soon overcome other shortages, including medical officers and air conditioners and meet the growing requirements on topmost priority.
The shortage of medical officers, around 11 number to be precise, continues to haunt the medical fraternity manning the district government official. Believe it or not, there’s no dedicate medical official to man the casualty ward after 4 pm, and the medical officer in-charge of the wards is forced to shoulder the additional responsibility of the casualty ward between 4 pm and next morning.
Inquiries by The Goan have revealed that around 11 posts of medical officers is lying vacant since 2012. Since then, the Hospicio fraternity and citizens have only heard promises of beefing up manpower, but in vain.
“The medical fraternity is totally overworked. Doctors do not get a much-needed break even after putting in 24 hours of duty,” informed a doctor.
Sources in the know said that Hospicio urgently requires medical officers, consultants, physicians, etc, to tide over the acute doctor shortage, as well as ambulances and air conditioners.
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Former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat lamented that it is unfortunate that the present government has failed to accord priority to the new district hospital “ with work on the project coming to a halt since 2012.
“My government had proposed the new district hospital, taking into account the infrastructure constraints at Hospicio. But, it is indeed sad that the new government has failed to commence work on the project after the departure of my government,” Kamat told The Goan after visiting Hospicio to inquire about the condition of the burn victims convalescing at the hospital.
Kamat hoped the ambulance incident, wherein the vehicle could not start and proceed to GMC, Bambolim will come as an eye opener for the BJP government to complete work on the district hospital on priority and tone up the hospital infrastructure.
