MARGAO
With no respite from the spike in Covid cases, bed capacity at the South Goa district hospital has been further upgraded and the hospital has in operation liquid oxygen facility to meet the growing requirements of Covid patients.
Hospital doctors, however, have appealed for protection of self with face masks and avoid a ventilator coming on their face, cautioning that the second Covid wave is a serious one.
Hospital in-charge, Dr Rajesh Patil said the rush of patients in the last fortnight has prompted the administration to increase the bed capacity close to 400 beds. Around 352 patients were found admitted to the South district hospital, with only 50 beds available for new patients as on Friday morning.
After the oxygen crisis raised its ugly head across the state and the country, doctors decided to fall back on the liquid oxygen facility installed at the district hospital after a visit by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and the Health Minister on Sunday. “One good thing about the district hospital is that it has been designed to provide a host of facilities. These facilities have now come in handy to meet our requirements”, he added.
Dr Rajesh has complimented district Collector, Ruchika Katyal, IAS and Sub-divisional Magistrate, Margao Jyoti Kumari, IAS for their quick decisions which has helped to resolve emerging issues. “Presently, we get the oxygen from a company based at Verna. Thanks to the support extended by the Collector and the SDM, we receive the oxygen without much hindrance along the road”, he said.
He added: “While we have availed the liquid oxygen facility at the district hospital, we have also undertaken an exercise to ensure that oxygen does not go waste when it is being provided to the patients. This has started giving us dividends”.
Saying that the district hospital can extend the bed capacity up to a maximum 550 to take care of Covid patients, Dr Rajesh said the authorities are increasing the bed capacity step by step taking into account the manpower requirements needed to run the hospital with enhanced bed strength.
To a question on complaints over distribution of food to the patients, he said the hospital is trying to streamline the entire system, wherein patients with diabetes receive the food on time. “The system should fall in place immediately. This will take care of complaints of late delivery of food”, he said.
Given that the near and dear ones of patients try to call up people with the hope of getting status of the patients admitted in the hospital, Dr Rajesh said volunteers will soon take up the job of communicating the patient’s basic health status to the relatives.
While patients who need a CT-scan are all being taken to the Hospicio, officials said this issue should get resolved once the district hospital gets its own Scan facility.
“We are all working to streamline the situation. As we all know, the second wave is serious, I appeal to the people, that though the facilities are being made available at the district hospital, they should comply with the safety norms by at least wearing a mask. People should take this responsibility as responsible citizens”, he added.
