Team Herald
MARGAO: South Goa MP Captain Viriato Fernandes has pledged to immediately sanction a fully equipped ambulance for the South Goa District Hospital (SGDH) following complaints from Margao residents about the deplorable state of the facility. This assurance was made during a meeting with a large delegation of citizens, who voiced their concerns about the hospital’s inadequate services that have resulted in unnecessary hardships for patients, and loss of life.
The delegation submitted a representation to Fernandes, highlighting the tragic case of Shirish Pai Kane, a Margao resident who recently died due to the unavailability of an ambulance.
They submitted a list of five demands, including increasing the number of ambulances by repairing existing ones and
purchasing new vehicles, hiring additional medical staff, adding beds to accommodate the growing patient load, and
streamlining administrative procedures that currently force patients and their families to endure long waits.
The citizens appealed to MP Fernandes to utilise funds from the MPLAD scheme to address these issues. In response, Fernandes committed not only to providing an ambulance but also to personally visit the South Goa District Hospital to assess the situation.
“The hospital, which began construction under the Congress government in 2010, was envisioned to have medical facilities on par with the Goa Medical College (GMC),” said former Margao Municipality Chairperson Savio Coutinho.
He recalled how then Chief Minister and current Margao MLA Digambar Kamat, had promised that patients from South Goa would not require to travel to GMC in Bambolim once the hospital was operational.
However, Coutinho and the delegation criticized the current state of the hospital and the local leadership’s response. They noted that while the Margao MLA initially raised concerns about the hospital’s underutilisation, his subsequent defection to the ruling BJP was framed as being for the welfare of Margao, a promise that residents feel has not been fulfilled.