Govt gives no assurance of handling treatment expenses of baby given faulty injection jab by GMC
*Dr Jindal’s comment on GMC baby ‘shocks’ doctors l Health Minister completely silent *Goa Medical Association stands by Dean
TEAM HERALD
[email protected]
PANJIM: A day after the Dean of the Goa Medical College said that the GMC would pay for the medical expenses of the three-week-old baby who stands to lose his arm due to faulty injection jab by a GMC nurse, the Government is silent on making good that promise.
The Dean V N Jindal’s subsequent careless remark that it was not possible for him to keep track all the 1000 patients in the GMC has further compounded matters.
Health Minister Vishwajit Rane has simply ignored the case. Herald made several attempts to call the minister and also sent a text SMS as late as even at the time of going to press on Thursday but he did not respond.
Meanwhile, the Medical fraternity in Goa has reacted with surprise and a fair degree of shock at Jindal’s statement that it was not possible for him to keep a track of all the 1000 patients. Dr Jindal had given this reply when Herald asked him the condition of the baby.
It was the same Dr Jindal who had assured the father of the three-week-old baby that the GMC would handle the case with care and even take care of all medical expenses including taking the child abroad.
Doctors in the State have termed as “not the right thing” the dean’s statement that he is not aware of the condition of the child especially after he had assured the father that he would take all responsibility for the health of the child.
Another doctor termed the dean’s reply as irresponsible. A senior specialist with a private speciality hospital in Panjim remarked “How can the dean make such a statement? We know it is impossible to keep a tab on every patient but this is very special case where there has been prima facie neglect by the GMC”.
Dr Francisco Colaço, a cardiologist from Margao, said since this was a special case it was only right that the Dean should have been keeping track of it.
“First of all it was preemptive of the Dean to promise that all will be done, without knowing whether the money is available but since he reassured the father, he should not have said that”, Dr Colaço said.
Dr Colaço, meanwhile, said that the case was not necessarily the fault of the doctor or nurse and that the neonatal paediatric ward was one of the best wards of GMC.
“It was a complicated case. The neonatal paediatric department of the GMC is one of the best departments of the GMC. Something must’ve happened that was beyond control”, Dr Colaço said.
Meanwhile, Dr Shekhar Salkar, chief of the Goa Medical Council came to the Dean’s rescue: “It is true that the dean is busy. It is now the committee’s lookout. The committee has to report to the dean. Then he will know”, he said.
