'GMC is best govt-run hospital in country'

'GMC is best govt- run hospital in country’ 

Herald Review August 10, 2014 

Goa Medical College’s new Dean Pradeep Naik tells LISA ANN MONTEIRO

After three decades of service Dr Pradeep Naik, head of the Ophthalmology department, took over as dean of the Goa Medical College and Hospital on August 1. Dr Naik took over from neurosurgeon Dr V N Jindal who held the post since November 2005.

At the helm of affairs, one of Dr Naik’s priorities will be reviewing and improving academic programmes offered by the college, which he will initiate at the first council meeting scheduled for August 14.

To keep all academicians on their toes, he wants to set an academic audit in place. Departments informally evaluate their own programmes but a formal academic audit has never been carried out. A committee of senior professors will be appointed to do the same.

His immediate focus is getting MCI ( Medical Council of India) recognition for the college. He is keeping tabs on the construction of additional lecture halls and the girls’ hostel and will ensure these will be complete before the next MCI inspection. Present infrastructure is inadequate and was created for students almost two decades ago when the intake was only 70. Today the intake is 150 with 600 students using the campus. “ Getting MCI recognition is one of the top most priorities and I don’t want to have any hurdle in getting it,” he told Herald Review.

Naik also plans to initiate new programs at the post graduate level.

MD in transfusion medicine, MD in geriatrics medicine to care for the elderly, MD in trauma and emergency medicine and MD in family and physician medicine. “ Of course these will require approvals from the MCI and Goa University so this may take procedural time but I’d like to introduce these within two years,” he says.

For a tertiary hospital designed to treat complex cases and focus on teaching, GMC sees a tremendous load of patients flocking to the hospital with trivial sicknesses, leaving doctors with little time to focus on complex procedures and teaching. Dr Naik doesn’t see this as a problem.

“ I look at the large numbers in a positive way because ours is a teaching institution with over 600 students training at our hospital.

We cannot work purely as a tertiary care hospital, we have to work as a general hospital too. If we don’t work as a general hospital how will we train our MBBS doctors to treat common diseases? Our hospital has to work in double fold and has to take care of the clinical workload for training students. As an apex institution we have to provide both services. We never drive away any patients however small their diseases may be.” When asked whether treating common colds and fever overburden doctors, he says senior consultants aren’t burdened by these cases.

“ We have junior resident staff and senior resident staff. These cases don’t go directly to consultants. They are examined by the resident doctors and filtered before they go to the consultants.” Poor facilities in primary health care centres are not the reason patients prefer GMC, he says. Many health care centres are equipped more than their norms and some even have ECG and ultrasound machines.

“ Patients prefer being treated at the GMC because with 22 departments, they can get all their problems solved under a single roof.” As for those from the neighbouring states of Maharashtra and Karnataka availing of free treatment at the hospital, he says Goa is a part of the country and the hospital doesn’t work on boundaries.

When asked why the Goan taxpayer is being burdened with the cost of treating them he said that is a policy decision to be taken by the state government. “ As dean I cannot decide these policies. We have been given instructions by the government to give free treatment at GMC. Whether to charge the patients or not is a decision that the government has to take.” The six month old super specialty cardio thoracic centre has proved to be a big success for the hospital, and the government claims is saving the state crores of rupees that were being spent on mediclaim.

The new centre has treated around 300 patients till date. Over 96 bypass procedures and 200 angioplasties have been carried out.

“ Under mediclaim we saw 100- 120 cases of cardiac surgeries a year but our doctors have done 96 surgeries in these past few months,” the dean says.

The centre is a relief for patients who had to leave the state seeking cardiac treatment. The cost on the exchequer of running the new super specialty centre hasn’t been worked out yet, he says.

Dr Naik joined the Goa Medical College as junior resident in 1981 and as senior resident in 1984. As the dean of the college and hospital he will have under his care the Goa Medical College and the hospital at Bambolim, the Rural Health and Training Centre at Mandur, the urban Health Centre at St Cruz and the TB Hospital at St Inez.

As a professor of the medical college, he wants to improve academics.

As far as the hospital is concerned, he says it has a very competent medical superintendent. “ She has streamlined many things. I will help her and take part in policy decisions.” GMC’s success he says lies in the government never refusing the hospital funds. “ That’s how we are able to run a 1000- bed hospital free of cost. It is one of the best government run hospitals in the country with so many free facilities. You will not see such a largescale government hospital being run free of cost anywhere else in the country.” Review Bureau