MARGAO: The new Hospicio Hospital at Fatorda will definitely be commissioned before the yearend said former chief minister Digambar Kamat after reviewing the progress as chairman of the Public Undertaking Committee that is monitoring the work following strictures made about it by the Comptroller and Auditor General.
Kamat reviewed the progress of the work with Director of Health Services Dr Jose de Sa, Medical Superintendent Hospicio Dr Ira Almeida and Jude Carvalho general manager of Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation.
Earlier, GSIDC was supposed to hand over the premises to the Health Services in July but that has been delayed and GSIDC is now likely to hand over the premises towards the end of September. The Health Services said they would require one month to be ready to shift the existing Hospicio to the new premises.
Kamat said that the delays are primarily due to three works which are the gas pipeline and the sewerage treatment plant both of which are expected to be completed by the first week of September.
The third cause of delay is the operation theatres which have been ordered from United States of America and have not yet arrived.
While the existing Hospicio is a 250 bedded hospital the new premises is a 500 bedded hospital and hence the demand for extra equipment and staff is also felt. In fact Hospicio has prepared a demand list that envisages 77 additional multi task workers and 127 more nurses.
Digambar said that the hospital will be on three floors while what is to be done about the two additional floors is not yet decided and opined that the new departments that are proposed to be added to the hospital could be housed on these floors.
“This district hospital can be for total health care thereby negating the need to refer patients to Goa Medical College which will remain the apex hospital,” he said while opining even a full-fledged cardiac care centre could be set up in Margao hospital.
