How much longer can Hospicio bear the burden of increasing patients? And how much longer are patients from South Goa going to rush to Goa Medical College for treatment that the current hospital cannot provide? There could have been a disaster at Hospicio, but luckily the fall of a ceiling fan on the feet of a patient, resulted in just ‘slight injuries’. That, however, does not absolve the authorities from negligence.
Yes, this was an accident, but an inspection of the fans in the hospital, conducted six months ago, suggested that some of the fans be replaced. In true bureaucratic form, estimates were prepared, and a single bidder quoted for job, but the process could not be taken forward for want of administrative approval. The result, a fan falls off the ceiling and on to the feet of a patient, and Hospicio is back in the news for all the wrong reasons. The Hospicio medical superintendent has revealed that once administrative approval is received, they will replace all the fans that need to be substituted. When that happens, is still a matter of conjecture.
The incident brings to fore the much-delayed opening of the new district hospital in South Goa. For starters, this accident could have been avoided, had the new hospital been in use. As late as in August last year, the government had announced that the new hospital would be opened in November 2019 and would be completely functional. Goa State Infrastrucutre Development Corporation was to hand over the hospital to Directorate of Health Services by September end and DHS would undertake the shifting of the services to the new premises, allowing for the inauguration by the end of November. In December it was announced that due to some financial issues, it would take another four to five months to open the new hospital. In the meantime, a fan from the Hospicio ceiling has fallen on the feet of a patient, signalling the crumbling infrastructure of South Goa’s main public medical facility.
The South Goa hospital has to be one of most delayed of public health facilities in the State. Also, South Goa’s powerful politicians who have been in power have not been able to expedite the completion or commissioning of the hospital. The foundation stone for the hospital building was laid on December 30, 2008, when Digambar Kamat was chief minister. It was another seven years before construction began on December 27, 2015. Four years later, the hospital is not yet commissioned. After the building is handed over to DHS – the new date for this is January 31, 2020 – it is likely to take a few weeks to a few months for the shifting process to be completed. At the current point of time, and even if the deadline of January end for handover is met, there still remains a doubt on whether the hospital will be commissioned this financial year.
The government has to display some urgency in getting the new district hospital commissioned. All other plans – including that of a medical college at the hospital – can wait. The priority has to be to get the hospital functioning and patients shifted. Due to shortage of beds at Hospicio, there have been instances in the past of patients sleeping on the floor. And now, following the ceiling fan accident, local residents have begun to question the delay in the completion of the new hospital. Before another accident, or even a disaster, the shift to the new district hospital has to be completed.
