MARGAO
Will Health Minister Vishwajit Rane honour the September 19 date and put the Covid facilities at the South Goa district hospital in place?
This question assumes significance and comes against the backdrop of the failed September 11 deadline coupled with the fact that the government is facing an arduous task to put in place the required manpower, including doctors and paramedics and obtain the required permissions, including the Fire NOC and commissioning of the STP.
Health officials in private say they can start the Covid facility in the South district hospital with existing healthcare workers, but reminded that additional doctors and paramedics will be required to put the entire 566-bedded district hospital facility to use.
While the Health Services can barely manage to man the district hospital, they apparently want the government to clear the files pertaining to the appointment of the contract manpower to run the facility.
“We are creating a pool of doctors and nurses to run the South district Covid hospital. But the pool cannot cater to the requirement of 500-odd patients. The government and the Health Minister should move fast to get the required manpower to man the facility,” remarked a doctor in the know.
The doctor warned that given the latest spike in Covid cases, the government will not be able to shut the doors of the district hospital for patients for want of manpower, including doctors and nurses, suggesting that the government should move fast on the manpower front.
The South Goa district hospital has also not obtained some of the mandatory NOCs and permissions from the authorities concerned. Take the case of the final fire NOC. A fire officer is believed to have inspected the South district hospital building, and has recommended certain changes in the arrangements to make the building fire compliant.
However, the occupancy certificate for the building has still not come from the Margao Municipal Council for want of payment of construction license fees. While the government is believed to have decided to make deferred payments to the MMC and obtain the certificate immediately in order to get the fire NOC, the file has still not been sanctioned by the government and the proposal has still not gone to the civic body.
Similarly, the absence of occupancy certificate from the MMC would mean that the FDA would not grant permission to set up a blood bank in the South district building.
Interestingly, the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) is planning to commission the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) around September 20 and then obtain permission from the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) to grant consent to operate it.
A senior GSIDC official informed that the fire NOC will come no sooner the government takes the decision on the deferred payments amounting to over Rs 70 lakh to the Margao Municipal Council.
During his visit to the South district hospital on Saturday, the Health Minister had said he would pay another visit on Friday before the district hospital starts Covid operations in the hospital after a dry run.
