PANAJI
A day after the Bombay High Court at Goa issued notice to the State government in a plea highlighting the lack of facilities at the South Goa District Hospital (SGDH), Health Minister Vishwajit Rane on Wednesday said that making the district hospital fully functional is the government's priority while ensuring specialised facilities at par with Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC).
“South Goa Hospital is a government priority. I agree there is a delay but the government is making all efforts towards full-fledged operation of the hospital in two phases,” Rane told media persons.
The High Court on Tuesday issued a notice to the government in a public interest petition filed by Goa Forward Party president and Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai over the lack of facilities at the South Goa district hospital. The petitioner is seeking interim relief to make the intensive care unit (ICU) and trauma unit operational at the earliest and equipping it with doctors and staff, at the earliest.
Rane said that a meeting with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant would be scheduled shortly to discuss a detailed proposal with regards to the recruitment of specialised doctors and staff across. “We are also concerned but we just cannot recruit doctors for the sake of it. We need to appoint specialised doctors. We will see that life-saving and specialised facilities at par with GMC are put in place at SGDH,” the minister said.
The Health Minister admitted that for super speciality treatments, the patients across the State have to be referred to the GMC. He also maintained that he and his father prefer taking treatment in the GMC.
“Everyone has got a right to move court but things cannot happen overnight,” he said, adding that due to his ill health, he was not in a position to look into the issue for some time.
Rane said that the government is also in the process of upgrading the sub-district hospital at Ponda with more advanced facilities.
