BAMBOLIM: Resident doctors, senior doctors, interns, MBBS students and other officials of the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC) staged a dharna in the college complex, on Thursday morning, opposing diversion of all 447 procedures under Deen Dayal Swasthya Seva Yojana (DDSSY) instead of diversion of 176 procedures to the private hospitals.
In this regard, they submitted a letter to the Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and Deputy Chief Minister and Health Minister Francis D’Souza, highlighting the issue.
It is learnt that the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister have assured them to look into the issue, and the doctors are hoping for a positive reply within the next 10-12 days.
“Doctors fear that if the DDSSY is implemented in toto, it will deteriorate the health of the Goa Medical College and Hospital,” said president of the Goa Association of Resident Doctors Akshay Naik.
Addressing the media at the Goa Association of Resident Doctors (GARD) hostel, along with Krishna Shetye, Charan Phayade, Ashwin Sardessai, Raskah Tavares and general secretary of the students’ council Vikas Kashyap, Naik said that the scheme needs to be studied properly first, and then implemented in a phased manner with improved infrastructure at the GMC.
“Sharing of 176 procedures with private hospitals is expected to decrease the OPD visits and bed occupancy, but keeping in view interest of the Goans, this is not only acceptable but also laudable,” they said, adding presently, the GMC lacks proper infrastructure.
They urged the government to improve basic facilities like water supply, medicine supply, clean toilets, trolleys and others at the GMC, and added that the other day, cement plaster of the ceiling of a study room came crashing down.
“If they divert all the 447 procedures instead of 176 procedures, there is every possibility of deterioration of the efficiency of doctors graduating from the GMC,” they said adding “it will produce theoretically sound doctors with no practical exposure.”
A student learns by observing the senior doctors treat the patients, and the medical teachers guide them to be good doctors, and we need to serve the Goans after becoming good doctors, they added
They further said that it will result in the GMC, which is the only premier teaching institute in the state, producing inexperienced doctors in all fields, and Goans will have to seek treatment in hospitals outside the state.
They felt that even 30 per cent decease in OPD attendance would result in derecognition of the newly approved 50 MBBS seats and 22 post graduate seats besides that any further increase in either MBBS speciality or super speciality seats will no longer be possible.
Presently, they said that the GMC is providing superspeciality care in CVTs, urology, plastic surgery, neurosurgery, nephrology, pediatric surgery, neurology, cardiology, and endocrinology, and added that in the beginning they were consulted but while diverting all the 447 procedures, they were not taken into confidence.