MARGAO
As citizens raise their voices over a plan toincrease the bed strength of Hospicio South Goa District Hospital to addressthe acute shortage of beds, a critical question is silently doing the rounds inthe hospital corridors: When will the government augment the manpower at thepremier government-run hospital catering to the entire South Goa district?
The question had also been raised amonghealthcare workers exactly a year ago, when the government moved towards fullycommissioning the 500-bed district hospital to address the shortage of beds. Atthe time, the hospital administration had requisitioned around 25 additionaldoctors, 50 nurses and 100 Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS) workers. This wasconsidered the bare minimum requirement after officials were instructed toincrease the bed strength from 350 to 500.
A year later, and after considerable delay,the district hospital is believed to have received around 50 nurses, fivedoctors and barely 7-10 MTS workers. While only about five additional doctorshave joined the hospital, the administration is once again seeking more nurses,with the 50 nurses deputed by the government over the past year still fallingshort of the growing requirements.
That, however, is not the only concern.Hospicio administration officials say that if recruitment-related issues havecome in the way of deploying additional doctors and nurses, the governmentshould, on priority, recruit the 100 MTS workers required to ensure the smoothfunctioning of the hospital.
“It is a fact that the manpower employed atthe hospital is overstretched. Increasing the number of beds at the districthospital will make more beds available to patients. But what about the manpowerrequirements? From 350 beds to 500 beds in August last year, the existingmanpower has been running the show. The situation has overwhelmed the system,”sources said.
An administration official said that, even ifthe government is unable to send additional doctors and nurses immediately, itshould at least depute the required MTS staff.
“Hospicio needs 100 MTS workers. Just imaginethe plight of the existing MTS workers. There is a need to deploy correspondingmanpower to cater to the growing requirements,” he added.
‘Reversetransfers’: Ambulance sought to easebed pressure
MARGAO: The Hospicio South Goa District Hospitaladministration has sent an SOS to the Directorate of Health Services (DHS),seeking a dedicated ambulance to facilitate the “reverse transfer” of patientsto Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs), in a bidto ease the acute shortage of beds at the district hospital.
The hospital administration has proposedtransferring patients back to their respective PHCs or CHCs once their conditionimproves and they no longer require treatment at the district hospital.However, the measure can be implemented only if a dedicated ambulance is madeavailable to the Hospicio for transporting such patients.
“There are many patients referred to the districthospital by the PHCs and CHCs for further treatment. Reverse transfer meansthat patients will be shifted back to the PHCs and CHCs once the physiciancertifies that their condition has improved and that they can continue theirtreatment at their respective centres,” sources said.
According to officials, the absence of adedicated ambulance has so far been the main hurdle in implementing theproposal.
“No sooner does the hospital receive theambulance, we will start the reverse transfer of patients to the respectivePHCs and CHCs,” a senior official said.
The proposed system is aimed at freeing upbeds at the district hospital by shifting stable patients who no longer requirespecialised or intensive care back to the referring health centres for continuedtreatment.
From stretchers to armrest chairs: When chairs substitute for beds
MARGAO: When the Hospicio South Goa District Hospitalran out of beds, forcing patients to undergo treatment on wheelchairs andstretchers, the hospital administration appears to have found a rather unusualsolution to ease their discomfort — procuring chairs with armrests.
Sources said the Hospicio administration hasordered around 10 chairs with armrests, apparently with the intention ofproviding some comfort to patients receiving treatment without access to aproper hospital bed.
The decision comes against the backdrop of anacute shortage of beds at the hospital, where patients have reportedly had tomake do with wheelchairs and stretchers when beds were unavailable. “We havewheelchairs and stretchers, but we decided to purchase around 10 chairs witharmrests, keeping in mind the interests of the patients,” sources said.
While the move may offer some measure ofcomfort to patients, the procurement has also highlighted the larger problem ofinadequate bed capacity at the district hospital. With patients having to relyon makeshift seating arrangements when beds are occupied, the focus on armrestshas drawn attention to the basic facilities available to those seekingtreatment.
