SUNDAY, MAY 05, 2024
PRATIK PARAB
Margao: There is a dogged resistance to making the new District Hospital into a COVID care centre. And the resistance is from the government and the administration.
The District hospital, the pride of South Goa is equipped and has 500 beds, much needed as cases in South Goa continue to spiral. But the health authorities want to keep the District Hospital dedicated to non-COVID patients
Margao MLA Digambar Kamat, amongst others, has plainly asked why the hospital can’t be made into a COVID care centre.
Kamat, who is also the Leader of the Opposition has been insisting that testing has to happen in large scale in clusters, to make sure the spread of the virus is contained. This testing has given rise to the need for a lot of COVID care centres to handle asymptomatic patients.
"We had suggested the same long ago. I don't find any problem in having a COVID care centre in the new District Hospital. According to me, there are beds and resting places for the asymptomatic patients and that's all that matters," said Kamat.
However, the health authorities have a different take and do not seem to be inclined to this idea at all.
Medical Superintendent of Hospicio Dr Ira Almeida said "We have already shifted our OPD to the New District Hospital. In the rains it is difficult to handle the crowds at the OPDs, hence, in anticipation; we shifted the OPDs to the new building." She also said that the Medicine Department has been shifted to make sure ‘they have a special place for flu cases and have separate cubicles to prevent COVID and non-COVID cases mixing’.
Interestingly, the authorities seem to be open to making the 100-bed old Hospicio hospital a COVID care centre.
"The old Hospicio can be used but only after we shift all the operational departments to the new District Hospital. Once the Operation Theaters are ready and handed over to us by the GSIDC, we can shift into the new building completely" said Dr. Ira.
This begs the question. With 30 odd cases increasing each day with a majority of them from South Goa and cases spreading to Salcete villages, does this solution seem practical, when the district hospital can handle far more patients?
As the cases are multiplying at an alarming number, every village and town is in need of a COVID care centre. The order of the State government making the Navelim Indoor Stadium into a COVID care centre is going to provide some relief. But with Quepem denying the Government College from being a COVID centre, and smaller facilities having been requisitioned, the chances of deficiency of beds lurks large.
