Goa Minister Vishwajit Rane lost his cool on Saturday and ordered the suspension of the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH)’s chief medical officer after rebuking him for allegedly misbehaving with a patient. The incident took place when the minister was on a surprise visit to the medical facility.
According to news agency PTI, the GMCH, located at Bambolin, is a state-run hospital with more than 1,000 beds. It provides medical services to patients from Goa as well as from nearby areas of Maharashtra and Karnataka. During his visit, Rane received a complaint on his phone that a doctor was refusing to treat a patient and misbehaving, reports news agency PTI, quoting sources.
Accompanied by Dr Rajesh Patil, Medical Superintendent of the GMCH, Rane walked into the casualty ward of the hospital on receiving the complaint. As the minister reached the spot, he pulled up the doctor (chief medical officer) for his alleged misbehaviour, and said, “You learn to control your tongue, you are a doctor. I generally don’t lose my cool but you have to behave yourself. However loaded (burdened with work), you have to behave properly with patients,” he said.
A five-minute-long video of the minister walking into the premises of the GMCH and pulling up the doctor surfaced on social media. In the video, he is seen telling the doctor that he should understand that he was there to serve people.
“You are a doctor and here to serve the poor people,” he said.
Turning to GMCH medical superintendent Dr Patil, Rane said, “Replace him with another CMO, I will sign the file for his suspension. I want him to be suspended immediately, I usually don’t behave rude but I can’t tolerate this.”
Now the minister has reacted that he has been receiving calls over the past few hours about the incident and saids that his tone and words could have been more measured.
“I’m not above reflection or criticism. I take full responsibility for how I communicated, and I assure you, such an approach will not be repeated,” he said.
“However, what I will not apologise for is standing up for a patient who was denied care. Doctors hold a noble position in society, and most of them at GMC serve with great dedication. But when arrogance seeps into duty, when compassion is replaced with indifference, it is my responsibility to take action. Because if we let such behaviour pass unaddressed, we send a message that it is acceptable to deny a senior citizen or any other person medical help. That cannot happen in a government hospital that is meant to serve the public,” the minister added.
“There is often outrage highlighted on the same media platforms and among public when things go wrong at GMC “Doctors don’t care, nurses don’t listen, no one takes responsibility. We were made to wait for basic treatment.” And rightly so. But when corrective action is taken, it is equally important that we support efforts to fix the system, not tear them down. I did what I did in defence of a helpless, elderly woman. And I will continue to speak up, act, and fight for the rights of every patient who walks into our hospital,” he further added.
