TEAM HERALD
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PANJIM: Persisting with compulsory rural medical practice for medical students, Health Minister Laxmikant Parsekar Wednesday informed the House that Post Graduate students passing out from Goa Medical College this year would be posted at Community and Primary Health Centres in the State, since several health centres in rural areas are in need of medical officers.
“All those post graduate students passing out this year and having agreements with the government to serve the State health sector for a year will be deputed to CHCs and PHCs by June or July,” he declared.
Parsekar was replying to a query from Sanguem MLA Subhash Phaldesai over the poor conditions of the Primary Health Centre at Sanguem and absence of medical personnel due to which few patients visited the PHC and opted to travel to either Hospicio or GMC instead.
“There are no orthopaedic doctors, no gynaecologists, no patient attendants and people have no faith in the medical services provided at the Sanguem PHC,” he complained, adding that it was not enough to have facilities without staff to handle it.
Parsekar told the House that the government is filling up vacant posts of doctors, nurses and patient attendants and all CHCs and PHCs would have patient attendants, specialists and consultants soon. He also assured Phaldesai that the Sanguem PHC would be upgraded with the requisite staff to meet the demands of the 45,000 population in that constituency. Plans are on to upgrade several community health centres, Parsekar stated. Malaria workers who were not considered by the previous government were also being taken on board and would be given employment in the health sector. So far 231 posts are filled on permanent basis and 135 on contract basis in the health department.
Earlier, Curchorem MLA, Nilesh Cabral urged Parsekar to relieve health officer of Curchorem Health Centre who is holding additional charge at Sanguem.
St Andre MLA, Vishnu Wagh impressed upon the health minister to make the Sanguem Health Centre a model health centre.
and provide all facilities and services including wholistic medicine of ayurveda and homeopathy.
It is interesting to point out that Parsekar replied to the queries posed to him despite all the din by the Opposition MLAs over the CCP election issue.
The querying MLAs and the minister were literally testing their lungs’ limits to avoid being drowned by shouting by Opposition benches. The din was so loud that press persons had to take off their headphones to avoid suffering damage to their eardrums.
