MARGAO
Why is the government still dragging its feet on converting the top two floors of the South Goa district hospital for treatment of Covid patients.
If Health Minister Vishwajit Rane had in the past zeroed in on the top two floors of the hospital to set up a private medical college, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant now says the two floors of the district hospital cannot be put to use for Covid wards for want of doctors and nurses.
When 'The Goan' put a question to the Chief Minister if the government had any plans to utilize the district hospital’s top two floors in view of the acute bed shortage, Sawant said the district hospital is presently making use of the first three floors only. He then pointed out that that the top two floors have cabinets and offices, besides a laboratory, giving an impression that the government is not open to putting the two floors for Covid treatment.
But, when his attention was drawn to calims of senior GSIDC officials that over 200 patients can be accommodated on the top two floors despite the cubicles and classrooms designed on these floors, the Chief Minister admitted that the two floors cannot be put to use as wards for Covid patients because of the shortage of doctors and nurses.
In fact, the Chief Minister pointed out that the South Goa district hospital has around 530 patients, indicating that the hospital needed additional manpower to relieve the stress of the doctors and nurses working at the hospital despite adverse doctor ratio.
“Doctors and nurses and other staff are all putting up their best efforts. We will have to provide additional manpower in case it is decided to utilize the top two floors of the hospital for Covid treatment," the Chief Minister added.
