PANAJI
The demand for super specialty healthcare in the state appears to be on the rise, with an increasing number of patients seeking treatment in such departments that includes urology, cardiology, cardiothoracic & vascular surgery and endocrinology.
In view of this trend, and predicting an added pressure on these departments, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane has proposed increasing the number of seats at Goa Medical College, Bambolim to cater to these specialisations. The aim, he said, is to create more specialised doctors in these departments.
According to statistics released by the Minister, the Urology Department that started in April 2008, has till date received a total of 1.46 lakh patients in the Out Patient Department (OPD) and 23,796 patients in the In Patients Department (IPD). A total of 11,527 patients were operated upon at the department’s operation theater (OT). Last year alone, the department received 21,565 patients in the OPD, 3,473 patients in the IPD, while 1,710 surgeries were performed at the OT. The department currently has a bed strength of 48.
The Department of Cardiology, that began in April 2013, and the cath lab in February 2014, received a total of 29,775 patients at the OPD, 6,809 patients at the IPD, while 8,542 patients underwent cath lab procedure. Additionally, 25,329 patients underwent echocardiographs and 4,423 underwent stress test. The bed strength here is 44.
The Cardiothoracic & Vascular Surgery Department, like the Cardiology Department, began in April 2013 but surgical operations only commenced in April 2014 with 34 beds. Since 2014 to date, there were a total of 7,312 patients in the OPD, 1,660 patients in the IPD, and 1,521 patients underwent surgeries at the OT.
And the Department of Endocrinology that began on September 2009 with a bed strength of 20 receives around 9,000 patients a year for the OPD, 780 patients per year for the IPD and 2,040 patients per year are catered to from other departments as peripheral references.
In all, the Minister has asked for two seats per year for courses in the Urology and Cardiology departments, and one each for the Cardiothoracic and Vascular, Cardiac, Anesthesia and Endocrinology departments.
