TEAM HERALD
[email protected]
CANACONA: Reacting sharply to demands for more doctors at the Canacona Community Health Centre (CHC), Health Minister Laximikant Parsekar on Wednesday bluntly told the hospital’s visiting committee that additional doctors are not easily available and simply cannot be purchased like medicines from pharmacies.
The minister was responding to requests from aggrieved members of the Hospital Visiting Committee (HVC) for better facilities and more doctors at the CHC. Canacona MLA and Sports Minister Ramesh Tawadkar was also present at the meeting.
Shortly before addressing the sarpanchas and panchas at Shristhal-Canacona, Health Minister Laximikant Parsekar was persuaded to interact with the HVC members.
During the meeting, Canacona Health Welfare Committee (CHWC) President and HVC member Diogo Da Silva reportedly began to voice grievances of Canacona people on various issues pertaining to the CHC and highlighted the many false promises of various governments. He then reacted angrily when Parsekar allegedly tried to disown some promises which were made to improve healthcare of Canacona people.
Stung by the criticism, Parsekar hit back and said, “Just because someone earlier had promised stars, I am not to be blamed for it. To overcome shortage of doctors at Canacona, additional doctors are neither available nor can they be purchased from pharmacies, in the way we can buy medicines.”
He then stunned the gathering by stating that three medical officers had refused their promotions as health officers on learning that they would be posted at the Canacona CHC and instead, preferred to work as MOs
Goa has one super specialty hospital (GMC), two district hospitals, five CHCs, 19 PHCs and several rural medical dispensaries, and his performance as health minister should not be counted as against attention only to Canacona or his home-town Pernem CHC.”
“Government has increased seats at GMC College from 100 to 150 and is extending infrastructure arrangements with an aim to increase the capacity to 250 students in future.”
Parsekar promised that the present government would execute that bond taken at time of admission and said that once this bond is executed, doctors will be available in abundance for posting at each and every nook and corner of the of the state, he said.
