After surprise visit, CM assures Ponda hospital help

PONDA: Chief minister Pramod Sawant made a surprise visit to the Ponda Sub-district hospital on Wednesday and took stock of the hospital’s oxygen supply.
Of the 150 Covid patients admitted at the hospital, 80 are on oxygen.
On Tuesday, 26 had patients lost their lives at the Goa Medical College due interruptions in the hospital’s central oxygen line between 2am and 6am. On the same day, the South Goa District Hospital also faced a shortage, but due to a gas leak incident.
The chief minister told the official at the Ponda hospital that he would sort out problems faced by them in procuring some life-saving medicines. Sawant also assessed the hospitals oxygen issues.
Sawant said that the mortality rate could be brought down if people got themselves tested before the onset of complications. This way they would not need any oxygen or ventilator, he said.
The hospital’s medical superintendent Dr Vikas Kuwelkar said that they have no ventilators. Only patient’s with mild infections are admitted here, but on Sunday it witnessed four deaths. Dr Kuwelkar said the patients were aged between 60 and 72 and had been brought in critical condition.
Following its April 18 decision to use one floor of the Ponda sub-district hospital partially for Covid patients, the state government on April 20 converted it into a full fledged Covid hospital. those in need of any other treatment are either sent to Goa Medical College, Hospicio, or the North Goa Sub District Hospital, Dr Kuwelkar said.
As the number of Covid patients is rising, the Ponda hospital is going to increase beds on its third floor on Thursday, he said.