Despite having one of the country’s best public healthcare systems, Goans opt for more expensive pvt healthcare confirming that all is not well with health services in the state
PACHU MENON
There has never been a shortage of good hospitals in Goa! Every major city in the state has been home to a few iconic hospitals that people swear by even today. Yet there was a time when Goans preferred the specialized treatments at the KLES in Belgaum or the Kasturba Manipal Hospital in neighbouring Karnataka.
With the state government making no concerted efforts to address the issue of locals seeking medical opinion and treatment in neighbouring states, it appeared that it was giving credence to the belief that Goa, as compared to the other states, was eons behind in tendering quality medical care. However, reports that despite having one of the country’s best public healthcare systems, Goans are constrained to go with the more expensive private healthcare available, confirms the fear that all is not well with the health services provided in the state.
Apart from the woes that afflict public health centers as regards shortage of doctors and technicians, the pathetic state of affairs at the Hospicio Hospital in Margao has time and again brought to fore the apathy of the Directorate of Health Services in ironing out the pressing problems that has affected the functioning at the ‘premier’ government hospital in South Goa.
Meanwhile, the new District hospital in South Goa at Margao has been some time in the making. With the hectic works going on at the site these days, let us hope that at least this once the government will be able to meet the deadline and the hospital becomes fully functional.
All these uncertainties changed with a few local entrepreneurs, capitalizing on the advent of medical tourism. However, while the proliferation of such secondary and tertiary care hospitals should have brought in a ray of hope for Goans long denied the best of medical treatment for lack of facilities, doubts persisted as to whether the common man would be able to afford treatment at these centers!
Classified as corporate hospitals, locals were highly critical of the expensive therapeutic course that deterred them from approaching such medical centers for treatment.
Many though would suggest that medical care is not a business and would expect the hospitals to be more holistic in their approach towards the entire process of diagnosis and treatment of the patient.
Is medicine a charitable profession then? With private health insurance schemes facilitating easy and affordable medical care in multi-specialty hospitals with cashless treatment and expense reimbursements, the public, to some extent, seems to have shed reservations if any in approaching them for medical problems.
Goa was soon discovering its true potential in establishing centers for medical excellence. The deluge of hospitals and diagnostic centers was hence a natural corollary to the trend. In no time, people were seeking Goa as much for its scenic beauty as for the new frontiers it was breaking as a renowned global health hub.
However, when it appeared that Goa looked poised to become a wellness destination, GMC decided to make the costliest of medical procedures available to the common man at rates that apparently brought cheer to the entire state.
With highly specialized doctors in place, it was assumed that the government was intent on taking medical care to the doorsteps of every Goan. But in the eagerness, the government inadvertently upset the applecart of private hospitals and looked set to push them out of contention.
With GMC broadening its visions to include the latest in medical sciences under its roof, private hospitals are finding it difficult to sustain their business.
However, to put it frankly; the need to have multi-specialty hospitals in major cities is more of a necessity than a luxury now!
Considering the topography of the state, it is not easy to rush those in distress to GMC in case of emergencies. The lack of facilities in Hospicio and Asilo hospital to treat emergency cases has further hampered proceedings, so to speak, at the district hospitals of south and north Goa. Moreover, with the state in the throes of route re-alignments due to the on-going developmental works, GMC cannot be a favoured destination every time someone’s life is imperiled.
It is such a time that the inauguration of Goa’s first entirely owned and operated super-specialty facility by the state’s top medical professionals has been hailed by professionals and laymen alike for its innovativeness! No doubt such ultra-modern medical institutions will add to the healthcare landscape and help create a benchmark for quality healthcare services in the state.
Yet, with ministers and other well-wishers turning up for the inauguration and praising the promoters profusely for their endeavour, the irony behind the whole essay is more than obvious. When the Health Minister of the state is emphatic in his assertion that integration of private and public sector in healthcare is critical to be able to offer premium healthcare facilities, he should remember that the onus is on him to ensure that the private health sector does not lose its business.With the ministrations of the GMC, the survival of hospitals in the private sector appears to be a certain improbability. Even then, it has not discouraged attempts by enterprising teams of doctors to give further shape to their grand designs.
