Outsourcing has been the buzz word for Health Minister Vishwajit Rane. From plated food to outsourcing canteens, laundry services and ICU and Radiology services, Goa Medical College Hospital is in for a sea change. While outsourcing will bring in a change, there will be questions raised over the relevance of this change to the common man and there will be more questions on the way the government is going about the job.
Understandably, one would argue getting outside help to run departments where local services are lacking is the most sensible thing to do. In this context outsourcing the Radiology department and several other services including ICU services will be a boon to the locals. However, there are decisions like outsourcing pharmacies which are questionable and will sound a death knell to the five other pharmacies at the complex. Even the laundry which is now outsourced to Ecoclean Systems and Solutions, a private housekeeping company, will throw several locals at hospitals and health centres out of their jobs, including the padvalls.
A bigger issue however is with the move to outsource the canteens. Staff employed at the seven canteens at the GMC will have to pack their bags mid-way through their contract to make way for the Health Minister’s outsourcing plan. That’s not all. It’s a pity that the Health Minister has unleashed the FDA officials on the canteens to do a hygiene check on the eve of opening of e-tenders for outsourcing. The FDA team has raised a red flag over 20 points, covering all possible issues from presence of ants, lizards, cockroaches in the kitchen to unhygienic condition of food stored. Nothing is spared. If these canteens were unhygienic all along as claimed, why were such serious issues ignored and not resolved earlier?
Unleashing of FDA on these contractors at this point in time only suggests that the government was scouting for reasons to abruptly terminate their contracts. A more sensible approach would have been to send letters to each of the contractors explaining the government’s plan of outsourcing canteens and terminating existing contracts.
The second issue that comes with outsourcing of canteens is that customized menu to the lower strata will no longer be available. Hereon, it will be strictly business-like and the bond which doctors, nurses, staff and patients have built with these local canteens will be broken overnight. Outsourcing canteens may bring in quality, but for a price. There are thousands of Goans visiting GMC who may not be able to afford such luxuries of life, leave alone doctor-recommended diet food from the canteen.
Thirdly, at a time when the State is reeling under mining shutdown where thousands of locals are rendered jobless, this comes as a further setback. Government’s plans to generate jobs through the IPB route too have not materialized so far. In this scenario, government should have considered allowing some local canteens to run parallel to the system, giving them a fair chance. Local self-help groups also could have been given an opportunity. By abruptly snatching away jobs from the locals, the government will only add insult to injury. The ‘Outsourcing Minister’ should explain to the people of Goa where the Goemkar will fit into his scheme of things.
