Medical callousness
The harrowing ordeal that an eighty-year-old Curchorem woman had to go through, despite her fractured hip, is symptomatic of gross medical unprofessionalism and the adhoc manner in which health services generally operate. Goa figures high on human development parameters – education and health. However, case after case of negligence in dealing with the accident victims, those faced with trauma and failure to punish the guilty staff including doctors thereafter, shows that health care in Goa has not scratched the surface of contemporary medical practice worldwide. Health care services in terms of quality of health care and culture of the personnel is by and large abysmal.
Eighty-year-old Sita Rama Phadte was first moved from the Curchorem Health Centre to Hospicio, obviously because health centres in Goa are ill-equipped to deal with any emergencies and sometimes don’t even have 24-hour medical attendants, doctors or ambulances. She was subsequently shifted to Hospicio the following day for surgery. The ailing Hospicio which itself awaits a major surgery, had to recommend Sita to GMC, late Saturday night. But pushing Sita into an ambulance back to Hospicio since there were no beds at GMC exposes the apathy of GMC and its staff. If the sequence of events is true as narrated by relatives, keeping her in the vehicle for three hours and then shunting her back to GMC smacks of the alarming callousness of medical staff, irrespective of who was involved.
A thorough inquiry and exemplary action needs to be initiated in this case and many others such as this, by a Health Minister who is scared of media expose of such instances of medical callousness. The Health Minister should realize that rather than his reputation, it is the welfare of the people of Goa which is paramount and rather than stone walling the media, he needs to work extremely diligently to raise the medical service levels of not only the GMC but the district hospitals, community health centres and primary health centres.
Recently, there has been a hype that super-specialty departments were and are to be opened at the GMC. Hence the problems with GMC is not merely equipment but the human quotient that detracts from the faith people have in the tertiary hospital. Much of this comes from lack of professionalism among various levels of staff that go to make up the institution – whether doctors, nurses and other technical and service staff that run blood bank or ambulance services. One would presume that much of this comes from in-breeding and lack of exposure to international trends, medical culture and high standards of medical practice in general and widespread corruption in purchases of equipment and medicine. While there are some very dedicated, caring and skillful doctors, nurses and staff who go out of their way to treat patients, the average perception is of dismal despondency.
Goa has perceptibly established the first stage of basic spread of services to most parts of the State, while this may still have to be expanded, the major task ahead is the second stage — of upscaling quality of medical care, developing professionalism of medical staff and establishing medical systems that deliver prompt, medical care especially to accident victims, the aged and those facing trauma. While for the PHCs, CHCs, and district hospitals there is need to upgrade the equipment and services radically, the GMC staff and doctors have to have international exposure through inter-linkages with foreign hospitals, exchange programmes, internships, etc.
Secondly, satellite linkages and hotlines need to be established with foreign and Indian collaborating hospitals and between GMC and primary and secondary level health care units. This way, limited medical expertise can be utilized towards patients’ wellbeing. Without a doubt, upscaling super-specialty facilities will do little to raise the faith of patients, when faced with life and death situations, unless there is a radical change in medical culture, proficiency and professionalism of the GMC.
