MARGAO: On the eve of World Health Day, the Congress alleged that rampant medico-legal corruption had been taking place in Goa and that the government was promoting illegalities in the health sector.
Replying to Health Minister Francis D’Souza’s statement that the party was making vague allegations, the Congress questioned whether he had forgotten Ravina Rodrigues, a young girl from Verna, who died due to medical negligence.
“The man who her parents approached to address their grievance dragged his feet. The fact that the MCI gave the details of the case in an RTI just goes to show the level of cover-up. Several other cases remain unsolved, which is why cases of medical negligence are on the rise and mostly go unreported,” said Avinash Tavares, Congress spokesperson.
The Congress has alleged that there is “complete rot” in the medical sector, where the Union AYUSH Minister controversially spoke of Yoga curing cancer, while the State BJP’s Medical Organising Cell Chairman and Goa Medical Council Chairman, Dr Shekar Salkar, was “running a system of lies”.
“The Chairman himself has BAMS (Ayurvedic) and BHMS (Homeopathic) doctors assisting him in one of Goa’s biggest hospitals in gross violation of Supreme Court guidelines to ban cross practice. He told us in an RTI reply that there are no quacks or cross practice happening in Goa,” said Tavares.
He continued, “During the Congress rule, we had prepared a detailed report on quacks in Goa because we did not want people to be victims of medical malpractice. However, the Council has gone a step further and has no records of who is what kind of specialist in Goa. In other words, this government is promoting illegalities in the health sector and putting the lives of Goans at risk.”
The Congress has also listed out solutions to these problems and has dared the BJP government to implement them. The solutions include: updating the MCI database and update the Goa Medical Council website with the names, qualifications and address of practicing doctors in Goa. The Congress stated that this would stop quacks and cross practitioners, and would help Goans find doctors and specialists in the vicinity.
The Congress has also demanded the removal of Dr Salkar as the president of Goa Medical Council as well as a head of the BJP Doctors’ Cell as there was a clear conflict of interest.
“If someone is brought into a hospital in an emergency condition, there is no way of knowing their medical history. A central database of patients’ medical history will not only help in such situations, but it will also ensure transparency and accountability of hospitals and doctors. The data should be accessible in all hospitals and medical centers,” added Tavares.
