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Goa, the land of sun, sand and sea, may be a place of fun and merrymaking for the numerous tourists who visit the State, but not a good place to die.
Quoting from a foreign palliative care study brought out by a national newspaper, Opposition Leader Manohar Parrikar informed the House India ranked at the bottom when it came to end-of-life care services. “The country ranks at a lowly 40th place and shockingly even a nation like Uganda is above our country,” Parrikar mentioned reading from the news report.
He stated the report speaks of Kerala making exceptional progress in the area, while Goa is nowhere to be seen, he chided. Kerala is the only state in India having a palliative care policy.
Parrikar stated he had made this point agreeing to a demand made by St Andre MLA Francisco Silveira to have a provision for a chapel somewhere inside the premises of Goa Medical College and Hospital in Bambolim.
The Opposition Leader said relatives and friends visiting the hospital may feel the need to come and pray to bring solace to their kin during the last stages of life. “I feel a place of prayer for major religions should be considered inside the GMC premises,” he stated.
Citing the palliative care study, he also brought to the fore the death of 16-year old Raveena Rodrigues who was operated by a senior doctor from GMC at a private hospital in Vasco. The death should make the health department to do a rethink on everything, he mentioned.
There are questions to be addressed, he said, “Were those who operated the girl qualified? Will the minister revisit the full policy of those government doctors into private practise?”
Parrikar stated after the implementation of VIth Pay Commission recommendations Government doctors were drawing high salaries, some of them above Rs one lakh. “There can be no justification for private practise after drawing non-practising allowance,” he said.
The Opposition Leader charged the senior doctor was not present during the girl’s operation. “The girl’s relatives were treated badly and the junior doctors at GMC were aggressive towards them. What I am referring to here is the undeserving quality of death,” he stated.
Parrikar charged Health Minister Vishwajeet Rane of not paying enough attention to health because out of one full year six months he was never in Goa.
Parrikar said the two mammography vans for detecting breast cancer cases at a whopping cost of Rs 1.92 crore had just conducted four camps in Panjim, Margao, Vasco and Valpoi.
He chided the vans were meant for rural places so what was the need for these to conduct camps in urban areas like Margao, Panjim and Vasco that have the requisite facilities. In the last six months the vehicles were used for only 10 days, he stated.
Parrikar highlighted that Goa Medical College had set up a state-of-the-art pathology lab but patients going there were referred elsewhere. He also criticised the new-born screenings stating the same were coming at a high price.
The Opposition Leader maintained a complete check was required in the health sector.
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