TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: The bed occupancy of primary and community health centres especially those of Valpoi, Sankhali and Bicholim has been falling steadily over the last few years, Health Minister Laxmikant Parsekar told the Goa State Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.
Brandishing figures, Parsekar sought to highlight how the construction of new buildings for the Valpoi, Bicholim and Sankhali areas were actually white elephants.
According to Parsekar’s figures the bed occupancy fell at the Valpoi Community Health Centre (CHC) from 55.11% in 2009 to a low of 33.42% in 2011 before rising marginally to 37.76% in 2012. For a 30-bedded CHC that translated to a fall of 17 patients to 11.3 patients average occupancy.
At the Sankhali Primary Health Centre (PHC), which is also 30-bedded, the bed occupancy fell from 78% in 2007 to 27.14%, while at Bicholim, the bed occupancy came down from 62.97% in 2007 to 32% in 2011 before rising marginally to 36.65% in 2012.
Parsekar said that this was only indicative that the State expenditure on huge hospitals was just a waste of money. His rebuttal came after Vishwajit Rane in his statement on the discussion on demands for grants for the health department defended his decision to build these hospitals.
Intervening in the discussion, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said that one-third of the Ponda ID hospital that has been newly-built and inaugurated has been kept shut because there are no patients.
Opposition Leader Pratapsing Rane countered that the fall in patients in rural areas was mainly because of the 108 service, which he said directly ferries the patients to the District Hospital or to GMC.
His claim that these hospitals were built keeping in mind the future requirement, was countered by Parrikar, who said that population in these rural areas was falling, not growing.
