MARGAO
There’s good news in store for Hospicio health care workers and the patients in general.
With Covid cases on the decline and with hardly 14 Covid patients admitted to the district hospital, the government has finally decided to shift Hospicio operations to the spacious South Goa district hospital in phases.
Even as the Health Minister told The Goan on Thursday that the process to shift Hospicio to the district hospital will start soon, Hospicio doctors informed they are even ready to shift the Out Patient Department (OPD) and the medicine wards to the new hospital from coming Monday.
“The government has decided in principle to shift Hospicio into the South Goa district hospital in a phased manner. The process will be set in motion very soon”, the Health Minister told The Goan on the sidelines of the programme held at the South Goa district hospital on Thursday.
Sources said Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has given his nod for the phase-wise shifting of the Hospicio to the South Goa district hospital. During his visit to the ESI hospital in connection with the inauguration of the PAS plant on Thursday morning, the Chief Minister gave the go ahead to the Health Minister, Health Director Dr Ira Almeida and Hospicio Medical Superintendent Dr Deepa Corriea for shifting of Hospicio hospital.
Inquiries by ‘The Goan’ have revealed that Hospicio health care workers are all prepared to shift to the district hospital from coming Monday, only waiting for the official nod for moving into the spacious structure.
“Hospicio had submitted a detailed plan to the government for shifting of the operations in phases. Space crunch has had a telling effect on both the health care workers and the patients in Hospicio. We cannot expand Hospicio and the only option left is to shift the hospital to the new district hospital”, informed a Hospicio official.
The Goan understands that the Hospicio plan envisages a gradual shifting of the hospital to the new district hospital, beginning with the OPDs and the male and female medicine wards. Take note, the OPDs and the medicine wards were shifted to the district hospital, but had to be brought back to Hospicio in the wake of the second wave of Covid attack.
As per the plan, the district hospital will continue to treat Covid patients, but the Covid ward, located on the third floor of the district hospital, will be totally isolated from the other floors. “Right now, there are only 14 Covid patients undergoing treatment in the hospital. Even these 14 patients may go home after being discharged before the process of shifting Hospicio is set in motion”, informed a doctor.
