TEAM HERALD

bureau@herald-goa.com

CANACONA: Ever since the Canacona Community Health Centre (CHC) was shifted to a new building seven years ago, residents have been complaining about poor facilities and services at the premier hospital in the taluka.

According to Health Officer Dr Vinod Naik, CHC Canacona functions without any surgeon, eye specialist, sanitary inspector and extension educator.

0px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; text-align: justify; font-size: medium; ">The ultra-sound and laboratory technicians visits CHC once a week and their absence on any one date could mean X-ray and tests are conducted only once in a fortnight.

CHC’s ambulance services is yet another misery. Most of the times, ambulances provided by EMRI comes to rescue of patients to shift them to Margao.

Large queues of patients and parents are frequently seen to meet the lone doctor at the OPD.

Despite the demand of Canacona Health Welfare Committee (CHWC) to upgrade CHC to a full-fledged hospital to provide better healthcare to over 60,000 residents in the taluka, the strength of doctors continues to dwindle. 

At present, there are only four doctors as against the sanctioned six doctors for a Community Health Centre.

To make matters worse, the only visiting surgeon and eye specialist employed on contract basis have since resigned, while a gyno-physician visits the CHC Canacona thrice a week.