Team Herald
BAMBOLIM: With the government opening up the Deen Dayal Swasthya Seva Yojana (DDSSY) health insurance scheme to private hospitals, Goa Medical College (GMC) resident doctors fear that people will opt for private hospitals over GMC and have thus opposed this decision.
Addressing the media, Goa Association of Resident Doctors (GARD) President Akshay Naik said the opening of 447 procedures under the DDSSY scheme looks at short term benefits but long term losses are grave. He said GMC is the only medical college in the State and has produced top notch doctors.
He said that as per statistics sharing 176 procedures with the private sector will lead to a 40 to 45 percent drop in work at GMC and eventually decrease in-patient and out-patient turnover.
Stating that 176 procedures shared between GMC and private sector is acceptable but opening of all 447 procedures to the private sector will be opposed by GARD as well interns and GMC students.
Naik also stated that with the diversion of all 447 procedures there will be a drop in the quality of doctors graduating from GMC, and the college and hospital will reach a point similar to private deemed teaching institutes, producing theoretically sound doctors with no practical exposure.
He added that decrease of even 30 percent in patients would result in de-recognition of the newly approved 50 MBBS and 22 PG seats, thus the progress made over the last 20 years to medical education would stand void.
GARD, however, failed to explain why they fear losing patient’s despite GMC being overloaded and the scheme reducing their work load.
