MARGAO
Has the government finally decided to shelve the private medical college from coming up at the imposing South Goa District Hospital building, or is this yet another flip flop by the government on the utilisation of the top two floors of the hospital building?
After the government pushed the private medical college on the top two floors of the South Goa District Hospital both within the Legislative Assembly and outside, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane in a major announcement on Wednesday has said a nursing college will be set up on the top two floors of the district hospital.
The Health Minister’s announcement assumes significance and comes against the backdrop of the series of flip flops by the government over the utilisation of the top two floors of the South Goa District Hospital building over the years.
The announcement further assumes significance and comes against the backdrop of the fact that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant in his 2023 budget speech had announced setting up of the private medical college in the district hospital.
During his visit to the South Goa District Hospital to launch the Prime Minister Jan Aushadhi Kendra on the ground floor of the hospital building on Wednesday, the Health Minister reminded that he has done the highest recruitment of nursing staff during his stint as Health Minister. “Nursing got the scope and a big boost after the government went about toning up the health infrastructure across the State,” he said.
And, in a surprise announcement, Rane said he has decided to activate the proposal for the nursing college on the top floors of the South Goa District Hospital. “If we have the nursing students right inside the district hospital building, we can fall back on the nursing students. We cannot keep the two floors in the district hospital building vacant,” he said.
The Health Minister did not announce that the government has not shelved the private medical college from coming up at the South Goa District Hospital, but asserted that the government has to do things which are for the good of the people. “We have to give what is good for the people as well and the medical fraternity,” he added.
The Goan understands that the Health Minister had first come out in public batting for the private medical college at the district hospital after his second stint as Health Minister in 2019. In this context, Rane had even unveiled plans to adopt the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel super-speciality hospital in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad city, to pave way for the setting up a private medical college at the district hospital.
Two years later in 2021, the Health Minister made a U-turn on the issue, saying plans to set up a private medical college has been shelved and the district hospital will only play host to a nursing college, only to revive the private medical college in the run up to the budget session of the Goa Legislative Assembly culminating in the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announcing the private medical college in South Goa.
