Wednesday, June 28, 2017

GMC dean to have only academic duties

Navhind Times: Panaji: Wednesday, June 28, 2017.
Health Minister Vishwajit Rane on Tuesday said that powers of dean of the Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim, and its medical superintendent will soon be bifurcated. Henceforth dean’s job functions will be restricted to academic duties while the medical superintendent will now have more powers to manage entire administration work.
Speaking to media persons in the city, Rane said, “The GMC dean (Dr Pradeep Naik) will be responsible only for academic duties without involvement in the hospital, while the medical superintendent (Dr Shivanand Bandekar), as the norm in all big hospitals, will look after the hospital administration. The official order for the same is at the final stage (of preparation), and I think by this week I will issue the order for the bifurcation of powers of the dean and the medical superintendent.” “I feel that the dean should strictly spend his time only on academics rather than anything else; and as he doesn’t find time to do anything else we thought that it is better to give more powers to the medical superintendent, who will report to the health secretary,” he maintained.
The state government has started the process to sign a MoU with the central government to procure 25 cochlear implants and rope in doctors who can conduct the surgery.
To set up a regional cancer centre in the state, the government will sign a MoU with the central government for which Rs 50 crore has been allocated. The state government is likely to provide more financial help to set up the state-of-the-art facility within the GMC premises, he said.
The GSIDC will be the nodal agency to build infrastructure for the proposed regional cancer centre.
Stating that only few hospitals are benefitting from the Deen Dayal Swasthya Seva Yojana, Rane said the government will review the scheme in September and bring about changes.
“If you seek information under RTI Act, you will come to know that only two-three major hospitals are benefitting from the DDSY. This is not the role of the government to allow only few hospitals to benefit. We must spread it (the scheme) out and then only more people will avail it and more procedures can be included,” he said.
He said that three contractual posts of oncologist are being created for conducting cancer surgeries at the GMC.
The government will appoint three junior consultants and one senior consultant at the cardiac centre to render round-the-clock services to the patients and also to reduce the workload on the present batch of doctors.
Rane said the government may start constructing a super-specialty block in front of Yatri Niwas in the GMC premises in an area of 1300 square metre, as there has been dispute on the site proposed earlier.
The minister said the first fleet of 108 ambulances have arrived and they are being equipped with advance life-saving equipment. These new ambulances will be put into service by next month.
“By July-end all the motorcycle ambulances will be made operational, and they will be pressed into service along coastal belt initially and thereafter at accident prone zones across the state,” he said.
The government will procure new six cardiac ambulances and recruit 24 MBBS doctors by mid-August with a salary structure of Rs 80,000 per doctor. These doctors will work round the clock on these six cardiac ambulances along with attendants at six different locations in Goa.
The government will seek quarterly audit report on medicines purchased for the GMC pharmacy.