The Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behaviour
(IPHB) located opposite the Bambolim shrine
has been around since 1980, but as a recent slab
collapse incident brought to light the crumbling
infrastructure, the building is under the spotlight.
In the month of June, a part of the slab of Ward 3 had
collapsed. Though no patients were hurt questions were raised
about the infrastructure and how safe the structure was. Some
24 patients from the ward were shifted to another nearby ward
while the Chief Minister and MLA Vishnu Wagh visited the spot.
While the slab debris has been cleared, the gaping hole still
reveals steel railings while concrete particles still fall to the
fl oor. This, however, wasn’t the fi rst such incident. Employees
who have worked with the hospital for around 10 years say a
similar incident had occurred fi ve years ago.
Speaking to Herald requesting anonymity on employee said,
“Five years ago a similar incident had happened. Though no
one was hurt at that time too, we were hoping for it not to
happen again. But in a way it is good that this slab collapsed
because at least now, the building will get some attention,”
he said.
With the monsoons setting in, sta members of the hospital
have also complained of leaky roofs. Patients have even been
made to shift wards due to rain water entering their rooms.
Health Minister Francis D’Souza confi rmed that while the patients
were being accommodated in other parts of the hospital, the Goa
State Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (GSIDC) have
been told to undertake the repair work.
Another employee complained of the water supply to the
institute. “There is a tanker that brings water to the entire facility
and gives water only for one hour. This is not enough to last half
the day,” he said, while another added that several taps have even
broken but nothing seems to have been done about it.
