MARGAO: It was Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s first visit to Hospicio after taking over the reigns of office earlier this year, as he saw for himself the state of affairs at the 150-year old hospital, with a bed and infrastructure shortage badly affecting the patients from South Goa.
Accompanied by Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat, Directorate of Health Services, Dr Jose D’Sa, Margao Municipal Councilors Rupesh Mahatme and Ketan Kurtarkar, former MLA Damu Naik and Hospicio doctors, Sawant took rounds in the Hospicio wards on Sunday noon, only to find a infrastructure and space crunch. As he moved from one ward to another and the make-shift casualty, the CM realized the bitter reality how patients have to silently suffer for want of space and infrastructure.
He could not find any patient lying on the floor or 2-3 women sharing beds in the gynecology ward for want of space, but the chief minister was moved when Leader of Opposition Digmabar Kamat explained him the scenario at the Hospicio. Sawant inquired with a Hospicio doctor in-charge on the hospital bed capacity and the occupancy and was taken aback when the doctor replied saying the bed-strength is 250 with 85 per cent occupancy. “There’s indeed a problem facing Hospicio. Just imagine when the hospital has 85 per cent occupancy and the infrastructure cannot cope up to cater to the requirements of patients,” the CM lamented.
He told the media that though Hospicio has a host of facilities, space crunch, including bed shortage is indeed an issue plaguing the hospital. “We have medical surgeons and staff, the OTs but there’s no place to put extra beds for want of space,” Sawant admitted. He attributed the space crunch to the decision by the PWD to shut down the two hospital annex buildings as they have been declared unsafe for occupation. And he sympathized with the people of South Goa with the mortuary unit failing to meet the growing requirements, as dead bodies are regularly shunted to the GMC mortuary.
The CM’s attention was drawn to the fact that patients are required to be physically lifted to the upper floors of the building for want of an elevator since the existing elevator was housed in the annex building, which has been shut down on safety grounds.
Digambar Kamat thanked the chief minister for paying a visit to Hospicio. “I highlighted the plight of the patients visiting Hospicio for want of beds. Patients lying on the floors or women sharing beds in the gynecology wards are an order of the day. Sawant has seen for himself and has expressed his concern over the ground reality,” Kamat said.
Kamat explained the chief minister how a roof of the building housing the pharmacy had come crashing down last month.
