MARGAO
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Health Minister Vishwajit Rane’s announcement declaring South Goa district hospital as a dedicated Covid hospital may ring in good news in times of Covid-19 pandemic.
The government, however, has a task cut out to get the 500-bedded district hospital commissioned for Covid, by obtaining a host of permissions, including Fire NOC, Goa State Pollution Control Board’s NOC to operate the Sewage treatment plant, et al. And, not to mention the task to rope in the required manpower by drawing the health care workers from both the Goa Medical College and Directorate of Health Services through a common pool mechanism to run the Covid hospital.
Doctors in the know in private say that the government cannot overnight start the district hospital as a Covid hospital for the simple reason that unlike the ESI hospital, the district hospital was never in full-fledged operation. “Only the male and female medicine wards were shifted to the district hospital to avoid overcrowding at Hospicio. But, there are a host of things that needs to be put in place before a hospital is made functional”, sources said.
Take the case of the fire NOC. The final fire NOC has still not come for the reason that the government has not cleared the construction license fees to the Margao Municipal Council, a pre-requisite to get the occupancy certificate.
Given that the government is not in a haste to make the district hospital function as a full-fledged Covid hospital, The Goan understands that the government has worked out a via medium to obtain the fire NOC. Sources in the know say instead of waiving the dues amounting to over Rs 70 lakh to the MMC, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant seemed in favour of adopting the deferred payment mode, promising to pay the Margao Civic body the fees at a later stage.
Sources now expect the Fire officials to inspect the district hospital building before the weekend so that the government receives the Fire NOC early next week.
The bed available may also come to haunt the health authorities. Around 131 beds, which were procured for the district hospital, were handed over to the ESI hospital, Margao when the government decided to notify it as a Covid hospital. Given that the government has drawn up plans to utilize the 500-bedded capacity of the district hospital for Covid, the health services will have to make provision for the beds.
A senior GSIDC official said the procurement of beds for the hospital falls in the domain of the Director of Health Services. An official of the health services, however, said it would not take much time to arrange the beds, saying that existing beds, which were procured for the district hospital, can be immediately put to use.
The government, however, faces the task of roping in the required manpower, including doctors and paramedics to run the district hospital. For, sources in the know say the existing doctors and para-
medics will be required to attend to patients in Hospicio.
A senior DHS official told The Goan that the government will make the manpower arrangement by roping in doctors and paramedics from both the Goa Medical College hospital, Bambolim as well as the Directorate of Health Services to cope up with the huge manpower required to attend to the Covid patients in district hospital.
“In times of Covid pandemic, we will have no option than to rope in the doctors and paramedics from both GMC, Bambolim as well as from Hospicio. Some adjustment will have to be put in place to ensure there is sufficient manpower for the new Covid hospital”, a senior DHS official informed.
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TOUGH JOB AT HAND
FUNCTIONING: Unlike the ESI hospital, the district hospital was never in full-fledged operation. Only the male and female medicine wards were shifted to the district hospital to avoid overcrowding at Hospicio
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FIRE NOC: Final fire NOC has still not been obtained as the government has not cleared the construction license fees to the Margao Municipal Council, a pre-requisite to get the occupancy certificate
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BED AVAILABILITY: Around 131 beds, which were procured for the district hospital, were handed over to ESI hospital when the government decided to notify it as a Covid hospital. Health services will now have to make provision for the beds
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MANPOWER: Existing doctors and para-medics will be required to attend to patients in Hospicio. Govt will have to rope in doctors and paramedics from both GMC as well as DHS
