PANJIM: The telephone service for OPD (Out Patient Department) appointments at Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC), Bambolim, will continue, said the Dean of Goa Medical College, Dr Shivanand Bandekar, on Saturday.
“The OPD appointments through telephone will continue. It will not be discontinued. People want it,” Dr Bandekar told O Heraldo.
The Covid-19 pandemic had compelled the administration of the State-run premier hospital to opt for appointment-based consultations. It had reduced the serpentine queues of OPD patients for consultations witnessed at the hospital early morning.
In March 2020, the hospital had released the numbers for booking appointments. The service was subsequently discontinued in October after the number of positive cases reduced drastically.
Again in 2021, when the second wave of the pandemic struck the country, the State government decided to resume telephone service for OPD appointments at GMC. In April, the government had released a poster which advised the patients to book their appointments for OPD visits in advance through phone.
The tertiary hospital in the state also caters to the patients from some districts of neighbouring states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. Out of the total patients treated at GMC, 30-35 per cent comes from the neighbouring State.
