PANJIM: The State government on Tuesday constituted a ten-member committee under Additional Secretary Health Sunil Masurkar to fix fees for treatments to be availed by non-Goan patients at government-run hospitals, including Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC). The Committee has to submit its report by October 25. 

The government has decided that from December 1 all non Goans will have to pay a nominal fee to avail facilities in State-run hospitals like GMC, South Goa District Hospital (Hospicio), North Goa District Hospital (Asilo) and Primary, Community and Urban Health centres. 

Health Minister Vishwajit Rane confirmed that Committee has been constituted. The minister said that the decision has been to taken to “ensure that Goans are getting a fair deal in these facilities”.

The other members of the committee include GMC Dean Pradip Naik, GMC director (Adm) Dattaram Sardesai, GMC MS Shivanand Bandekar, MS Mapusa district hospital Geeta Kakodkar, MS Hospicio Ira Almeida, under Secretary to Health Minister Dr Rajnanda Desai, under secretary Trupti Manerkar and Maria Seomara. Health Director Dr Sanjiv Dalvi is member secretary. 

State-run hospitals are being used by patients from the neighbouring Konkan belt in Maharashtra and Karwar from Karnataka. “Almost 40 per cent of the patients who were visiting the Goa medical college and other two district hospitals are not from Goa due to which the Goans have to face lot of inconvenience,” Rane said.