Mangaluru: The Government Lady Goschen Hospital here in the city has yet again missed a deadline set by Minister for Health and Family Welfare K R Ramesh Kumar; he had said in December last year that the new block would be ready by March 23. However, officials say that the block would be ready in another two months.

The government has granted Rs 3 crore for pending works and released Rs 10 crore for additional works. But as on March 23, only the structure of the block was ready while the electricity and other works are under progress.

Meantime, work on the 60-bed maternity and child health wing of the hospital has already begun at a cost of Rs 10.46 crore. Several delays have resulted in limited space for doctors and they find it difficult to care for the mother and child.

Sources say that the hospital handles about 450 cases of delivery every month on an average which includes several cases of high-risk pregnancies.