MARGAO
Street Providence founder Donald Fernandes and a delegation on Tuesday met Goa Forward Party chief Vijai Sardesai and urged the regional party to include care beds in its 2027 election manifesto, citing the need to address rising mental health and lifestyle-related illnesses in Goa.
The delegation proposed setting up 1,200 care beds across the state, particularly as the Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behaviour (IPHB) is set to expand its capacity to 400 beds. It suggested establishing a 20-bed care centre in every village to provide support to patients after they are discharged from hospitals.
Fernandes said the Goa Medical College and Hospital and the two district hospitals frequently operate at full capacity because patients continue to remain there even after receiving treatment due to a lack of adequate care facilities at home.
“The Goa Medical College and Hospital and the two district hospitals are always full because people come for treatment. After treatment, the patients need care. There is no one at home to take care of them and hence they prefer to stay at the hospital,” Fernandes said.
He said government figures indicate that around 18-20 per cent of the population visits healthcare facilities every 15 days, including GMC, district hospitals, primary health centres and community health centres.
“To tide over the situation, each village should have 20 care beds to look after the patients,” he said.
Fernandes also pointed out that Goa Forward Party MLAs had raised issues related to mental health and lifestyle diseases in the Legislative Assembly. He urged the party to incorporate the demand for care facilities into its 2027 election manifesto.
Sardesai assured the delegation that the issues of mental health and care beds would be included in the party's manifesto.
“If we see Goa’s situation in respect of mental health and facilities, we will be shocked to learn that we are not at all progressive on this front. We may be better off compared to the neighbouring states, but we have to do something big for mental health,” Sardesai said.
He said mental health and dementia should be integrated into the healthcare system and added that Street Providence’s proposal for 20-bed care homes in every village would form part of the Goa Forward Party’s 2027 election manifesto.
