Team Herald
MARGAO: A group of prominent citizens and representatives from various sectors in Margao have called on the government to ensure that the South Goa District Hospital (SGDH) becomes fully operational.
In a memorandum submitted to Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, the group expressed concerns over the lack of advanced healthcare facilities and well-equipped ambulances at SGDH. They argued that these deficiencies are severely affecting the quality of patient care and accessibility.
The memorandum, signed by former MLA Uday Bhembre, Adv Cleofato Almeida Coutinho, Dr VV Kamat, former Mayor Ajit Hegde, Radhakant Pai Kane, Mahendra Alvares, Deep Karapurkar, Vinod Shirodkar, and others, highlighted that despite ongoing demands from both citizens and elected representatives, the government has not yet made SGDH fully operational.
Prabhav Naik, one of the signatories, stressed the urgent need to make the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) fully functional with advanced equipment. He also pushed for the establishment of a well-staffed neurosurgery Unit, a cath lab, and a trauma unit, along with other essential healthcare services.
The shortage of staff, the memorandum noted, is placing additional strain on the existing workforce, leading to delays in patient care. The citizens also requested the deployment of at least two cardiac ambulances and five other category ambulances exclusively dedicated to SGDH.
Additionally, the memorandum highlighted concerns over the 108-ambulance service, which is not under the control of SGDH. The group cited the service’s standard operating procedure (SOP) as a primary reason for delays in patient transfers, including a recent case involving Shridhar Pai Kane, who reportedly died due to a delay in being shifted to Goa Medical College (GMC).
Finally, the citizens called for the establishment of a high-level committee to investigate the reason behind patient referrals from SGDH to GMC and private hospitals.