The state-run Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC) is amongst the oldest medical institutes in Asia and the world. However, after several decades, the functioning of the biggest hospital in the state has been under the scanner from time-to-time.
More than 30 departments of medical sciences are performing duties and serving thousands of people, not just from Goa, but also from the neighbouring states.
According to GMC sources, the doctors in OPD attend to 1,200 to 1,500 patients per day. And the casualty doctors attend to 120-150 cases per day and about 90 to 110 patients are admitted to different wards of the hospital.
The superspecialty departments alone provide services to more than 6,000 patients a month apart from the medicine department.
Amongst these, the Centre for Cardiovascular and Thoracic Sciences (CCTS), superspecialty established in February 2013, has performed more than 8,000 cardiology procedures and more than 1,000 open heart surgeries. The Urology department in 2016 alone attended to more than 21,000 patients in OPD and performed around 1,700 surgeries apart from 14 kidney transplants in five years.
The Geriatric Care Unit was established in 2015 and has been attending to old age ailments such as dementia, joint problems, eye-sight ailments, diabetes, etc. Patients are attended in the OPD every Saturday on prior appointments and more than 2,500 elderly patients have benefited from the exclusive unit.
All the departments of the GMC while providing services seem to have been overloaded with the quantity of patients that arrive. While, initiatives have been taken for turning the GMC into a premier institute of learning and medical care, the daily operational activities remain the biggest challenge which need to be addressed.
Health Minister Vishwajeet Rane during his first surprise visit was taken aback with 40 per cent of the security staff missing from their duty spots and stray dogs were seen sleeping and moving around freely in the casualty ward which is the first centre for patients brought in during an emergency.
During another visit, the staff of Eco-Clean, the contracting company entrusted with the duty of keeping the GMC complex clean, was seen dumping hospital garbage in the open space next to the Yatri Nivas, making it very evident that those responsible themselves were creating the menace within the complex.
Water supply to the GMC has been a perennial issue and subsequently the water crisis has led to stinking toilets apart from the red-stained walls of the hospital buildings.
The Health Minister assured that a state-of-the-art blood testing facility would be set-up soon.
However, the problem is not limited to one but has affected all including the nursing staff, the services as well as the infrastructure.
According to the staff, shortage of medicines is a regular issue and “harassed” patient party have to run helter skelter to purchase medicines from private pharmacies.
