Anthony M Barreto <[email protected]> wrote: [1] The common man walks in a government hospital and comes out on a stretcher -- dead meat. [2] When it comes to private hospital's it is another story. [3] The kin of the patient do not get a fair hearing. [4] Fact is that a hospital is a big business.
COMMENT: My dear Tonybab, Your post was quite striking in many ways. This is a topic which interests me immensely. So, please allow me to comment on your post. re #1: While I am appalled at the state to which our Goa's public hospitals have degenerated over the past 40 years - despite the amount of funds Goa has generated during this time span and continues to generate, this statement of your isn't necessarily true. It has been my personal belief that civil servants who have no idea of Goa should never be at the helm of institutions in Goa until they have received a firm understanding of Goa and its needs (usually takes 10-15 years of domicile). If you put such folks in charge ..... the primary interest will be mercenary ...and the institution will degenerate because of a lack of true interest. Please read the basic premise of Rajan Parrikar's posts on Goa. needless to say, I agree with him. Even so, much good work goes on in that hospital, and we should understand and acknowledge that. One rarely hears about the cases which the public hospitals save. re #2: It is my understanding that private hospitals (in Goa) are primarily there NOT for charitable purposes. During the Portuguese era, the nuns and the lottery helped run some of the private hospitals. They were apparently spotlessly clean and they reportedly provided the best level of care that was known then and which could be provided at the time. That was then. In the late 1960s-1970s ...there was a lot of politics (at the time of Deans Vengsarkar, Abraham and the surgeon Dean who followed - based at GMC) to take over those hospitals; and take over, they did. It is impossible now, for private hospitals to run at a high level unless they take short-cuts or they charge high amounts. re #3: Not very clear what you mean by that statement. Are you suggesting that doctors should 'talk' to relatives of an adult patient - without being specifically advised to do so by the adult patient? re #4: That it is. That is why Governments (unfortunately) feel compelled to run public hospitals. I doubt anything positive can be written about the chaps who run the public hospitals in Goa. jc
