Medical services at South Goa District Hospital to be upgraded
Panaji: In an effort to strengthen the state’s health sector, the state government Wednesday decided to resolve various issues, including filling up of posts of doctors, nurses and other manpower in the South Goa District Hospital, Margao, community health centres of Quepem and Canacona and sub-district hospitals in the next few months.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant chaired a crucial meeting at Mantralay in Porvorim on Wednesday. The meet was attended by Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, local MLAs and officials.
Briefing media after the meeting, the Chief Minister said that the government has decided to upgrade medical facilities at the South Goa District Hospital, Margao.
A detailed review of the shortage of manpower and medical facilities in the South Goa District Hospital as well as the Sub-district Hospital at Ponda, and Community Health Centres of Quepem and Canacona was taken up at the meeting.
A major concern raised by the local MLAs during the meeting was the non-availability of physiotherapists, other doctors and technical staff in the health centres in their respective constituencies.
Discussions were held and key decisions were arrived at on starting services to enhance critical care capacity, upgradation of emergency and trauma centres, onboarding of medical officers along with additional nurses, multi-tasking staff (MTS) and technicians, onboarding of casualty medical officers to strengthen emergency response and strengthening sub-district hospitals by addressing existing gaps in manpower and infrastructure.
It was informed that senior officials would conduct site visits for immediate infrastructure upgradation.
The Chief Minister said that the Sub- District Hospital at Sanguem will be inaugurated soon and new ambulances will be inducted into the healthcare service. He said a dialysis unit will be set up in the new facility at Sanguem.
Cabinet clears Co-operative Policy 2026
Panaji: With focus on achieving the goal of Sahkar Se Samriddhi and Swayampurna Goa 2037, the state cabinet on Wednesday approved Goa State Co-operative Policy 2026.
The state policy has been aligned with the National Co-operative Policy 2025. The policy was approved in the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday.
The policy focuses on tackling the emerging challenges in the co-operative sector besides governance deficit, financial stress and limited professional capacity in the co-operative institutions and emphasises on the need for digital transformation in the sector.
The Goa State Co-operative Policy 2026 was drafted by the committee headed by former South Goa MP Adv Narendra Sawaikar.
The policy stresses on strengthening financially weak co-operative societies and allowing profit-making societies to handle weaker co-operative institutions. The policy also focuses on setting up of skill training institutions, encouraging youth to participate in co-operative sector and enabling co-operative societies to organise labour supply in the state.
The state co-operative policy also lays stress on promoting co-operative societies in floriculture, horticulture and fisheries and facilitating them to access the schemes introduced by the Union government.
The cabinet also approved the proposal to amend the scheme to provide wage hike to 42 helpers working in government pre-primary schools in the state. Moreover, the cabinet resolved to approve the grant of maternity leave to the female co-terminus staff appointed by office of the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, cabinet ministers, leader of the Opposition, advocate general and other cabinet ranks. The facility is for females with less than two surviving children.
