The many viruses the country has been facing in these last few months have shown how hospitals fail to meet people’s demands in terms of space. But this problem would have been less severe if the new areas waiting for the authorities’ green light had been brought into use.

The new building near the Victoria hospital has been ready since last year. However a conflict between the entrepreneur and the authorities has prevented the brand new outpatient department from opening.

Work on the construction started in July 2002; it was expected to last two years and cost Rs 161 million. In the end, the construction took three years, cost Rs 200 million and is still not ready. The ministry of Public Infrastructure intends to deliver the building to the health ministry at the end of the year which means it will come into operation only at the beginning of next year.

In Souillac, the problem is almost the same. The new hospital had to close down to settle a few problems that made the building unusable. According to the minister of Health, Satish Faugoo, the former government is responsible for delays in the opening of the hospital. He asserts that the hospital was inaugurated just before the elections without the ministry of Public Infrastructure making sure everything was under control. But, after a meeting to find a solution, technicians looked confident that they would succeed this time.