Goemkarponn desk
BAMBOLIM: Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant today informed that state has enough oxygen but the issue is the delay in supply of oxygen cylinders. He also squarely blamed M/S SCOOP for delay in Oxygen supply and threatened to take over the plant.
Chief Minister today visited the Goa Medical College (GMC) and inspected the COVID-19 wards.
“I was not aware of the situation inside the wards and today in did inspection inside the wards, state has enough oxygen but issue is delay in supply of oxygen cylinders,” said CM
He further said that he will be holding a review meeting with health officials today evening to streamline oxygen supply process so that no patient dies due to lack of oxygen.
“State government will fix responsibility on Scoop Industries which supplies oxygen to GMC; in my opinion they should have taken responsibility in changing the old system of oxygen supply at GMC,” CM said
Sawant also said that state government can take over company but at present, the government does not have expertise. I will not tolerate a single death caused due to supply of oxygen.
Chief Minister also warned to take strict action against private hospitals that refuses COVID-19 treatment under the DDSSY.
“Government will take action against private hospitals that refuses COVID treatment under DDSSY; I urge people to file complain with state government,” he added.
The Goa government on April 28 announced that COVID-19 treatment in private hospitals will be covered under its flagship medical insurance scheme.
Up to 70 to 80% expenditure of a COVID-19 patient at private hospitals will be covered under the scheme, he said, adding that a notification in this regard will be issued soon.
The State government recently capped the cost of COVID-19 treatment at private hospitals to ₹8,000 per day for general ward and 19,200 per day for ICU facilities with ventilators.
Though the state government has announced that COVID-19 treatment in private hospitals has been included in its flagship health insurance scheme Deen Dayal Swasthya Seva Yojana (DDSSY), some private hospitals in South Goa district have, however, been refusing to accept the DDSSY cards claiming that they are yet to receive the related government order.
One such case was reported in Margao on Saturday. The COVID-19 patient was admitted to a private hospital last week by his relatives as a bed was not available in government hospital. The patient was subsequently put on oxygen.
However, after five days, when the patient started recovering, his relatives enquired with the hospital as to whether the COVID treatment facility was available in the hospital under DDSSY as announced recently by the Chief Minister and they were shocked to get a reply from the hospital authorities that no such order has been received by them from the government.
