GUILHERME ALMEIDA
It was on March 3, this year that the state of-the-art upgraded ESI Hospital in Margao was inaugurated with much fanfare by the then union Labour Minister, Oscar Fernandes in the presence of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, Labour Minister Avertano Furtado, Margao MLA Digambar Kamat and Member of Parliament Shantaram Naik.
Wednesday will mark six months since the upgraded 100-bedded hospital was dedicated to the people of Goa. Sadly, the hospital is yet to commence full-fledged operations till date. And, no one knows for sure when the hospital – which caters to the medical needs of the working class – will finally be fully operational. When Team Herald visited the imposing hospital block, both doctors and nurses alike appeared clueless when the hospital would start full-fledged operation. From 50 beds, the hospital has been upgraded to 100 beds but inquiries have revealed that the hospital presently plays host to only 10 beds for both male and female patients. In times of emergencies, one finds nurses and hospital staff pulling the beds from the male and female wards to meet the requirements. And, it’s not uncommon to find the hospital staff facing the brunt of irate patients and relatives over the absence of facilities.
That’s not all. A doctor disclosed that the imposing building is not yet handed over to the hospital authorities till date. If he is to be believed, around 80-90 per cent of the building work stands completed and the process to obtain NOCs from various departments is underway. Foundation stone for the hospital modernisation and upgradation was laid on February 16, 2009 by Union Labour Minister, Oscar Fernandes.
Inquiries have further revealed that though the “upgraded” hospital was inaugurated on the eve of the Lok Sabha poll to beat the Election Code of Conduct, the hospital staff, including doctors and nurses required to run the hospital, is yet to be recruited. While Labour Minister, Avertano Furtado claimed that the government has recruited some doctors to man the hospital, the process to recruit 90 nurses and other basic staff is yet to get underway till date.
Moreover, the whole lot of equipment required for the upgraded hospital is yet to fall in place. While the ESI management was initially scheduled to procure the medical equipment, the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) has now been given the task of purchasing the state-of-the-art equipments. When Labour Commissioner Fatima Rodrigues was contacted to shed light on the delay in putting in place the medical equipment, besides manpower, she said the process to procure the equipment by the GSIDC is effectively on. And, she said that the file to recruit the hospital staff stands cleared by the government and the advertisement may be out anytime.
Rodrigues, however, said that though the hospital is not fully operational, care is taken to ensure that the patients get the best of treatment in the private hospitals. “The ESI scheme is run by the State government and we have ensured that the delay in the commissioning of the hospital does not come in the way of the beneficiaries receiving the best of treatment. We have tied up with some of the super specialty private hospitals, where patients get the treatment”, she said.
Incidentally, the Labour Commissioner could not set any time-frame for the final commissioning of the upgraded hospital. “Unless the equipment and manpower is in place, the hospital cannot be fully operational. We are trying our best to commission the hospital at the earliest”, she added.
Though the foundation stone for the hospital was laid in 2009 by Union Labour Minister, Oscar Fernandes, the project fully funded by the ESI Corporation was hit by delays in the completion of the civil works, sources said.
