Health Minister Vishwajit Rane’s outburst at the GMC on Saturday reportedly in response to a call from a journalist of a vernacular newspaper about a medical treatment at the hospital has sparked widespread debate and controversy across political, medical, and public domains. Rane was captured on camera verbally reprimanding Dr. Rudresh Kuttikar, the Chief Medical Officer at GMC and ordering his immediate suspension over an alleged disagreement over administering a B12 injection to a relative of the journalist.
Rane invited the wrath of sections of people across the spectrum, in both Goa and abroad, strongly condemning his reaction, emphasizing that such actions bypass due process and undermine medical professionalism and dignity. Rane subsequently acknowledged that his tone could have been more measured but defended his intervention, asserting that he acted to defend a patient’s right to timely care. He stated he takes responsibility for his words but stands by the need to address perceived arrogance and indifference among some medical staff.
The episode raises critical questions about addressing grievances against healthcare professionals, the balance of authority between politicians and medical staff, and the importance of maintaining professional dignity and due process. Dr Rudresh is a senior doctor and has spent around two decades in this field and has life-healing testimonies to his credit. This is what he faced during the verbal assault on him: “Put your hands down when you are standing in front of me”, “Your bloody ego...kick him out from here”, you are not authorised to speak when I am speaking”, “Go home, or I’ll tell the security to throw you out”, I’ll suspend you for the next two years and as long as my tenure is there”.
It is appalling that healthcare professionals whom we claimed heroes not too long ago for being on the frontline of saving lives, and who continue to sacrifice personal and family lives are being subjected to such humiliation. Such authoritarian excesses undermine medical ethics and democratic accountability and suggest that ministerial authority can override established protocols, bypassing the crucial steps of investigation, hearing, and due process that are fundamental in any fair disciplinary procedure.
It is shameful because here is a senior doctor, a chief medical officer, who is not even allowed a say but is summarily told to pack up for no fault of his. The unfortunate irony is that nobody could speak up when this saga unfolded. Senior doctors standing with Rane could not muster the courage to intervene. Neither did the government leadership react, the way it usually does. Why such indifference? Why the eerie silence? Is it because medical professionals are defenceless souls, defenceless against ministers, or the highly influential who operate on phone calls?
Rane may have acted in the interest of the patient, or rather, the journalist associated with the patient, but there was no medical emergency to bypass protocols. The incident set a poor precedent because medical systems were breached via a phone call.
There is no doubt that accountability and patient rights are vital, but there are established norms and protocols. Medical cases must be handled with transparency, respect, and adherence to due process, not by impulsive displays of power. The healthcare leadership must exercise restraint, prioritize dialogue and uphold the dignity of medical professionals, even amid grievances and public scrutiny. Such acts not only erode trust between doctors and the government but also undermine medical morale, discouraging doctors and staff from performing their duties with dedication, especially when they fear being publicly shamed or dismissed without even a hearing.
