Goa to get new hospital for ESI beneficiaries

A new hospital under Employees State Insurance (ESI) scheme would be constructed in Goa in addition to the existing facility in south district which is currently undergoing upgradation, the state government said today.
The 100-bed hospital will come up in Porvorim constituency near Panaji, state Labour and Employment Minister Avertano Furtado told the Legislative Assembly here today.
However, the minister refused to divulge any time frame for the completion of the project.
Total 1.6 lakh beneficiaries are covered by ESI in the state, who basically belong to the working class, Furtado said.
The existing ESI hospital in Margao town, 35 kms away from here, is partially upgraded, he said.

"It is functioning with the facilities like Out Patient Department (OPD) and emergency services," Furtado said, adding that the construction of next phase of Margao facility would be completed by June this year.
Raising the issue, Congress legislator Digambar Kamat demanded that the hospital should extend its facilities even to the non-ESI beneficiaries as the existing health facilities are inadequate to meet the requirement of increasing number of patients.
Furtado said recruitment of 28 doctors and 94 nurses would be undertaken by the concerned authorities as the current strength is insufficient.