Team Herald
CANACONA: The Canacona Community Health Centre (CHC) has drawn criticism from patients and locals for several decades. Their endless list of complaints include: staff shortages, few doctors, broken cots, dirty linen, no life-saving drugs, no water and electricity supply, and a leaking roof.
They took their grievances to many ministers and leaders, and in 2002, the then Canacona MLA and Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) Vice Chairman Vijay Pai Khot decided to construct a modern health centre. GSIDC constructed the building at a cost of Rs 5 crore and then handed it over to the Health Department in 2006.
However, social worker De Silva stated that the only notable difference between the “pre-historic era and modern era” of the CHC was that the building now looked like a starred hotel from the outside. He said successive governments had failed to provide basic healthcare facilities at CHC since its inception and despite huge promises made by minister during their visits to Canacona.
Canacona Municipal Council (CMC) Chairperson Simon Rebello stated, “Although the posh CHC with sufficient rooms was constructed some nine years back, it lacks doctors, nurses, technicians, etc. Also, patients visiting the CHC are mostly poor.”
“The health centre lacks basic facilities. Some of them were provided recently, while others are on the way,” informed Health Officer Dr Vikas Kuvelkar, adding that a cardiologist Dr Sujatha had joined duty in July.
According to Kuvelkar, the vacant posts at the CHC include: junior school officer, rural medical officer, junior surgeon, arithrolist, assistant matron, extension educator amongst several other vacancies.
Two years ago, the then Health Minister, Laxmikant Parsekar visited the CHC to take stock of its functioning. He assured that doctors and other facilities would be made available within a fortnight. However, nothing has materialized since that visit.
“The Health Minister came and only made promises. Now he is the Chief Minister of Goa. Where are the doctors? What happened to his assurance to put things in place at the Centre,” questioned a patient from Cotigao, who cannot afford to go to a private hospital.
Former Gaondogiriun Sarpanch Ashok Velip disclosed that around sixty-seventy percent of people in Canacona are economically backward and cannot afford to go to private hospitals. He said the joy that arose when a dialysis unit was installed some years ago was short-lived as constant power failures hampered the unit’s functioning.
A former member of the hospital Visiting Committee alleged that the present committee members were good at only abusing the doctors, nurses and other staff members. Since they were nominated by politicians, they were busy with political activities and had very little knowledge of administration.
Dr Rao further disclosed that 75 percent of patients depend on the government dialysis units at CHC, Hospicio and GMC, Bambolim. Others go to super-specialty hospitals under Mediclaim facility for dialysis.
“Doctors have attributed kidney ailments to various factors, but till today the government has failed to pinpoint reasons behind the highest rate of kidney failures in the taluka,” said Manoj Naik Gaonkar, a social worker from Char-Rasta.
Environmentalist R F John, who was at the hospital when asked for his comments, remarked that the CHC itself was ailing and in need of immediate remedial attention, failing which it would become like a ghost house.
