Panaji, Oct 29 (PTI) The residents of Goa availingmedicinal facilities at state-run Goa Medical College andHospital (GMCH) will be given priority from tomorrow, stateHealth Minister Vishwajeet Rane has said.
"From next week onwards we will have two queues, onefor Goans and another for non-Goans outside the out-patientdepartments (OPDs) and registration counters at GMCH. We willstart charging a nominal fee from non-Goans from Decemberonwards," Rane said yesterday.
"But in case of emergency, the patient, even if he isnot from Goa, would be given priority," he said.
Rane had earlier this month said that non-Goansavailing medicinal facilities at state-run hospitals will nowhave to pay "nominal" fees for the services, offered free ofcost till date.
He said the decision was taken to ensure that Goansget a "fair deal in these facilities".
The health department, headed by Rane, will form afive-member committee under additional secretary (health) towork out the modalities to allow free services in thegovernment hospitals only for the people who are domicile ofGoa.
The minister earlier said the committee will submitits recommendations on the amount of fees chargeable withinnext ten days.
Apart from Goans, patients from neighbouring Konkanbelt in Maharashtra and from Karwar in Karnataka also useservices of the government hospitals in the coastal state.
The minister had also said the Goans can produce theDeen Dayal Social Security Yojana card as one of the identityproofs.
The state government has also decided to implement thebond for junior resident doctors of working for one year atGMCH, Rane said yesterday. PTI RPSGK.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.