Panaji: The Goa government on Saturday decided to take over the rights to admission in all the 21 private hospitals in the state treating COVID-19 patients from May 17 citing various violations of norms. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the move will ease the load on facilities like the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH). A total of 75 COVID-19 patients had died during treatment at the GMCH in the last four days, ringing the alarm bells in the administration.
Explaining the rationale behind the state government’s decision, Sawant said private hospitals were not reserving 50 per cent of their total beds for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. “We have also come across the instances wherein private hospitals were not providing COVID-19 treatment under the DDSSY scheme (the medical insurance scheme of the state government),” he told reporters.
These hospitals will be run by the hospital staff. We're only taking control of admissions. A government officer will be stationed at each of these private hospitals, who will ensure that 50% of the beds are reserved for COVID-19 patients: Goa CM Pramod Sawant pic.twitter.com/9TWcApYKYn
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2021
There are instances wherein private hospitals were found charging patients exorbitantly, he said. Sawant said the government will only take over the rights of admissions in these hospitals while their management will remain with their owners. “There are 21 private hospitals which have been providing treatment to COVID-19 patients in Goa,” he said.
The chief minister said COVID-19 treatment in private hospitals would be covered under the DDSSY (Deen Dayal Swasthya Seva Yojana) scheme. “We will ensure that 50 per cent of beds in the private hospitals will be kept reserved for treating COVID-19 patients. This will help to ease the load on facilities like the Goa Medical College and Hospital,” Sawant added.
As of Saturday, Goa’s overall caseload stands at 1,34,542 while the death toll is 2,056, a health official said.