PANJIM: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday announced that the government will name the cardiac unit at the new Super-Specialty Block, Bambolim will be named as Dr Manjunath Desai cardiac unit.
Sawant was speaking at the first Dr Manjunath Desai Memorial Oration at Durbar Hall, Raj Bhavan. Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai, Union Minister of State Shripad Naik, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, University of California, San Francisco, USA, Professor of Medicine and Clinical Chief of Cardiology Dr Theodore P Abraham, who was the orator, were present at the occasion.
Speaking further, Sawant said that late Dr Desai was an inspiration for doctors and he was a boon not only for the Goa Medical College (GMC) but also for the whole State as he touched the hearts of the people by performing around 10,000 surgeries since his joining as consultant in cardiology in 2013 till his death in October last year. He said, “Dr Desai was always more concerned about his staff, who could not be regularised in services. But it was Dr Desai’s wish that the salary of his staff be brought on par with other staff of the hospital and he achieved it.”
The Governor said that Dr Desai was an eminent cardiologist and a bright student of Goa Medical College. He said that Dr Desai’s contribution in building the department of cardiology in GMC and taking it to the current heights had been immense. His passing away has left a huge void in the department.
On the occasion, the Governor conferred on Dr Theodore P Abraham, who is also an Alumnus of GMC, the first citation instituted in memory of Dr Manjunath Desai.
Dr Shirish Borkar, Professor and Head, Dept of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, GMC; Dr Guruprasad Naik, Chief Interventional Cardiologist, Dept of Cardiology, GMC and Dr Virendra Gaonkar, Senior Consultant Neonatologist and Paediatrician, were also present.
