Panaji: After a long wait, South Goa District Hospital will begin offering major diagnostic and specialist services, meeting a long-standing demand from residents who have had to travel to Goa Medical College (GMC), Bambolim, for cardiology and related care.On Friday, an MRI unit set up in association with GMC at an estimated cost of Rs 12 crore and an echocardiography machine costing about Rs 35 lakh will be commissioned. A health official said doctors and technicians have been trained to operate the new equipment.Specialist consultations will be introduced on fixed days. A cardiologist from GMC will be available three times a week, and nephrology consultations will be held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Echocardiography will be available for both inpatients and outpatients on designated days.Officials said these additions will allow more patients to be treated at the district hospital, reducing referrals and the need to travel to Bambolim for advanced diagnostics and specialist opinions.In recent years, PWD minister Digambar Kamat and Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai repeatedly raised concerns about inadequate facilities at the South Goa District Hospital, which has frequently referred patients to GMC due to a shortage of super-specialty consultants.
