the goan I network
MARGAO
There’s finally some good news for the people of South Goa over the long-delayed South Goa district hospital. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Sunday announced that the government has finally set November as the target to commission the South Goa district hospital.
He further said that the new district hospital will be a full-fledged hospital, with provision for a nine-bedded cardiac unit to be set up in coordination with the Goa Medical College. The hospital will also play host to a full-fledged orthopedic unit. “MLAs from South Goa have been demanding the early commissioning of the district hospital. This morning, I spoke to Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, who has exuded confidence that the new district hospital can start functioning by November. The Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) has set a deadline to complete all civil works and hand the hospital building to the Directorate of Health Services by September end. As per the plan chalked by the Health Directoarate, it may require one month to shift the Hospicio operations to the new district hospital,” the chief minister said.
Reminding that he was earlier the chairman of the GSIDC, the agency executing the project for the government, Sawant said the decision on setting up the nursing college on the top two floors of the district hospital building had also delayed the project for some time. “Now my health minister says that the hospital should be commissioned first. We will take a call on the top two floors at a later date,’ he said.
To a question, the chief minister said the government will try and shift the entire Hospicio operations to the new district hospital at one go. “We cannot have the casualty at the new hospital and the paediatric ward at Hospicio. May be diagnostic units such as CT scan can be left at Hospicio at the initial stages if it cannot be shifted together,” he said, but hastened to add that the government will take a decision on the shifting aspects in due course of time.
In fact, the chief minister issued directions to Health Director Dr Jose D’Sa to prepare a shifting plan, even as he suggested joint meetings with the Health Directorate, Hospicio and GSIDC to plan the shifting.
Replying to a question, the chief minister said the new district hospital will have a dialysis unit. On the dialysis unit run by a private party in the annex building, which has been declared unsafe by the PWD, Sawant has called for the file from the health director to discuss the issue with the advocate general. “My prime concern is for the patients who avail services from the dialysis unit in the building. We will finalise the matter with the AG,” he said, after Leader of the Opposition Digambar Kamat pointed out that the court has stayed eviction of the private party from the building.
Kamat later told the media that Sawant has cleared the file for the procurement of operation theatres from abroad. “With the clearance of the file, there’s not much work
left at the district hospital, except completing the STP work and the installation of the
OTs. Work on the mortuary is almost complete,” Kamat added.
