Goa: MPT facility to be Covid hospital, but has no ICU

PANAJI/VASCO: The state government on Saturday declared MPT hospital, which served as a Covid care centre during the first phase of the pandemic, as Covid hospital. It will be the third Covid hospital in South Goa.
The hospital has a capacity for over 200 beds but it doesn’t have a dedicated ICU, which is critical to treat moderate to serious patients.
Though it has regular staff, a health official said, the hospital does not have a full-time pulmonologist. It was suggested to health secretary Ravi Dhawan at a meeting he had with doctors, that it be made as an intermediate centre — a step-up or step-down centre — and help reduce the burden on South Goa district hospital (SGDH) and Goa Medical College (GMC) and Hospital, Bambolim.
“Patients, where it is suspected that their case may worsen because of their comorbidities, can be admitted to the MPT hospital and, if need be, transferred to either GMC or SGDH,” the health official said.
Currently, even mild cases get admitted to GMC or SGDH for lack of beds.
A week ago, South Goa collector had notified MPT hospital as Covid care centre, but within a few hours, the order was withdrawn without giving any justification.