Goa CM Pramod Sawant says will visit GMC today, doctors say bring health minister Vishwajit Rane too
Panaji:
Even as Goa Medical College (GMC) doctors demanded a public apology in the hospital's casualty department by health minister Vishwajit Rane, chief minister Pramod Sawant said on Monday that Rane has already tendered his apology.
'I convinced them (the doctors) that he publicly tendered his apology and the issue has to be resolved,' said Sawant.
On Monday evening, after protests, members of the Goa Association of Resident Doctors (GARD), GMC dean S M Bandekar, and consultants, among others, met Sawant to discuss and resolve the issue. The CM's intervention followed protests by doctors who insisted on an apology from Rane for abusing and threatening chief medical officer Dr Rudresh Kuttikar.
Sawant told GARD that he would visit GMC's casualty department on Tuesday to end the deadlock, but GARD told him to bring Rane with him. They told the CM that Rane could tender an apology at casualty without cameras, but he has to tender his apology.
'They raised around 10 issues with me,' said Sawant. 'Nine issues have been resolved. I assure them that henceforth, such incidents will not be repeated in GMC. I hope that the issue will be resolved, and they should resolve it.
I have requested them not to go on strike. I told them that I will come to casualty.'
Asked whether GARD's main demand — Rane's public apology — was also addressed by the CM, Bandekar said, 'That part was not discussed.'
Rane on Saturday directed the immediate suspension of Kuttikar following a complaint from a journalist of Marathi newspaper alleging that the doctor told a patient to go to an urban health centre to receive an injection. Sawant on Sunday assured the doctors that he would not suspend the CMO.
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Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
Doctors & patients
Medics can't be bullied by ministers. But how medics deal with patients is also a vital part of healthcare It started with a refusal – correct decision, by the books – by Goa Medical College's emergency department to administer a routine B12 injection to a 77-year-old. She got the jab in the orthopaedic ward. It ended with an apology to GMC casualty's chief from Goa's health minister, who had suspended the doctor in a brazen public show of arrogance on camera. The video of the public humiliation correctly triggered outrage. The minister was not just badly behaved, he displayed an attribute shared by many politicians: pulling rank at the drop of a hat. In April, a UP minister on-camera wanted a Sonbhadra hospital's CMO 'sent to the jungle' because he was not available to 'welcome' the minister on arrival. He too, like his Goa counterpart, believed their high-handedness was 'speaking up for patients'. But they spoke from a point of privilege and ego alone. However, this thread – that patients need 'support' when facing doctors – brings us to another reality of Indian hospitals. One that's barely discussed. Some doctors are often less than civil with patients in public hospitals. Dismissive behaviour with patients and nurses is not infrequent, but barely recorded in any survey. Neither is its impact on care outcomes studied – starting with patients not daring to clear doubts for fear of a dressing-down. As noted by some TOI columnists, there are various surveys of abuse of doctors but none on doctors' un-bedside manners. The social status of doctors is such that some of them routinely get away with markedly impolite behaviour especially with poor patients. Doctors in govt hospitals are rarely caught on camera – patients have far bigger problems and challenges than to call out 'doctor saab'. This invisibilisation contrasts with the outrage that follows when a doctor is slighted. Medical fraternity speaks as one. That's a good thing. But dare a patient speak out against a doctor's behaviour? True, the doctor-patient ratio in public hospitals shows how burdened doctors are. But it's good to ask whether that's the complete explanation. Dismissive behaviour by some doctors perhaps comes, in part, from a sense of privilege. That many in govt hospitals are overworked doesn't help. The Goa case isn't one of a kind. Similar miscommunication – where to go for what kind of medical care – plays out daily pan-India. Countries like Australia and UK study doctors' behaviour towards patients in public health systems. Perhaps, that's something India should consider. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.
NDTV
7 hours ago
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Will You Go To Hospital And Apologise To That Doctor? What Goa Minister Told NDTV
Quick Read Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed. Goa's health minister, Vishwajit Rane, faced backlash after suspending a doctor for patient care issues. He apologized but refused to do so again, insisting he has served the public. Doctors have demand an in-person apology, threatening strike New Delhi: Vishwajit Rane, the health minister of Goa who stirred up controversy after suspending a doctor over patient care and then apologising, said he would not apologise again. The doctors, who were on warpath, have refused to accept his apology and have demanded that he apologise in person to the doctor concerned. "No, I've already apologized... I think I have apologized to the doctor on national TV. And what more can one expect?" Mr Rane told NDTV in an exclusive interview when asked about the matter. "I'm not here to become a Nayak or become anybody. I'm here to serve the people of the state of Goa and ensure the best of medical facilities are available to the people of Goa," he added. Mr Rane's run in with Dr Rudresh Kuttikar of Goa Medical College and Hospital or GMCH took place during his surprise visit to the premier facility on Saturday. He apparently caught the medical personnel refusing to treat a patient and suspended the CMO in public. Soon after a cell phone video of the encounter appeared on social media, sparking a massive protest by doctors. Despite his apology -- first on social media and then on television -- Mr Rane is facing severe backlash from organisations including the Indian Medical Association and Goa Association of Resident Doctors, that have threatened strike. Asked about the matter, Mr Rane said, "I don't think this is appropriate. I think from both sides, we need to take two steps back. We cannot put the patients at risk. I've always been saying that I'm here for the people of the state of Goa". The minister said he had confronted the doctor after a patient he knew called up for help because he was not getting treatment. "The whole trouble was that when a patient of 77 years doesn't get treatment or doesn't get an injection or whatever the reason may be, I think that thing just pained me," he said. "I was just in the initial part of the video, which has gone viral, is the part where I was pulling him up, which was I said the words and methodology was not appropriate... (but) it was very important for us to see that why was he rude to the particular lady and that was I should have actually heard him out," he added. While Chief Minister has cancelled the suspension of the doctor concerned, the minister clarified that his was not a case of change of heart because of any reprimand from Pramod Sawant. "We are colleagues. We are all working together. There's no question of any reprimand and all here. I have, I myself, when the chief minister called me, I said, there's no question of suspension... I never moved any kind of note for suspension. And the doctor has never been suspended," he added. Asked if he would like to apologise again through NDTV, Mr Rane said, "I would like to tell him that I have apologised to you and your family, doctor, and you should accept that apology... I don't think such behaviour on my part would be there again... And it's important both of us work together as a team... Our issue is we can both settle down and have a cup of tea together and resolve the issue".
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Time of India
Goa CM Pramod Sawant says will visit GMC today, doctors say bring health minister Vishwajit Rane too
Panaji: Even as Goa Medical College (GMC) doctors demanded a public apology in the hospital's casualty department by health minister Vishwajit Rane, chief minister Pramod Sawant said on Monday that Rane has already tendered his apology. 'I convinced them (the doctors) that he publicly tendered his apology and the issue has to be resolved,' said Sawant. On Monday evening, after protests, members of the Goa Association of Resident Doctors (GARD), GMC dean S M Bandekar, and consultants, among others, met Sawant to discuss and resolve the issue. The CM's intervention followed protests by doctors who insisted on an apology from Rane for abusing and threatening chief medical officer Dr Rudresh Kuttikar. Sawant told GARD that he would visit GMC's casualty department on Tuesday to end the deadlock, but GARD told him to bring Rane with him. They told the CM that Rane could tender an apology at casualty without cameras, but he has to tender his apology. 'They raised around 10 issues with me,' said Sawant. 'Nine issues have been resolved. I assure them that henceforth, such incidents will not be repeated in GMC. I hope that the issue will be resolved, and they should resolve it. I have requested them not to go on strike. I told them that I will come to casualty.' Asked whether GARD's main demand — Rane's public apology — was also addressed by the CM, Bandekar said, 'That part was not discussed.' Rane on Saturday directed the immediate suspension of Kuttikar following a complaint from a journalist of Marathi newspaper alleging that the doctor told a patient to go to an urban health centre to receive an injection. Sawant on Sunday assured the doctors that he would not suspend the CMO.
