Health Minister Vishwajeet Rane has said that from December 1, non-Goans coming to Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC) will have to pay basic charges for treatment and also there will be a separate queue outside the OPDs for them. This is done in order to give priority to residents of Goa who come for treatment at the GMC.
Goans are required to carry valid ID proof from December 1 to avail the benefit, otherwise they may have to pay for the treatment. “If a person from Goa doesn’t go with any document he will have to pay,” Health Minister, Vishwajeet Rane was quoted by ToI.
The committee formed to work out the rates to be charged at the hospital will have the rates ready by the end of the month. The committee has already had two meetings.
The Health Minister informed that there will be a separate queue for Goans and Non-Goans. This will be implemented right from the registration stage at the OPDs. “The medical superintendent has asked me for one week’s time to put the system in place,” he told reporters on Saturday.
“We’re not depriving them of treatment. Emergencies will be treated free and handled immediately. The poor will be treated for free, but there will be basic pricing for the rest,” Rane said. He further added that when a Goan goes to KEM in Mumbai he has to pay.
“We can’t be giving freebies to people from outside the state. I am going to be very strict irrespective of which government is ruling in Maharashtra or who the minister there is,” he told TOI.
Stating the need for such a move, Rane said, “My people are on the floor while outsiders are on the bed. I have to work towards reducing the load on GMC. I took a genuine decision to see that people of Goan origin are given more preferential treatment. Goans pay for DDSSY yet don’t get beds and facilities.”
“There’s a lot of effort involved in pricing, structuring, ensuring there are parallel counters… Nobody wanted to take that decision. It’s my duty to see that our people are taken care of first,” Health Minister explained why such a decision was not taken in the past.
Image credit: Oheraldo.
Information credit: ToI.
ItsGoa/OCT/SST/6
