Docs: Mass protest if Rane fails to apologise

Panaji: Upset with the “degrading and arbitrary” suspension order issued by health minister Vishwajit Rane to a casualty medical officer, the Goa Association of Resident Doctors (GARD) has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to govt.In it, the association is demanding a public apology from Rane and a firm assurance that a “climate of fear and intimidation” will not be repeated.GARD has called for a fair inquiry into the episode, which was disseminated to the media. The General Practitioners Association of Goa (GPA-Goa) has backed GARD and said that Rane’s “rudeness and insulting words” are an insult to the entire medical fraternity.“The health minister must issue a formal, public apology to the officer in question and to the medical community of Goa for his deeply unprofessional conduct,” said GARD president Dr Aayush Sharma in a two-page statement. Sharma added, “We demand a firm assurance from govt that no healthcare professional will ever be subjected to such a degrading and arbitrary ordeal again.” Rane has accepted that his tone and words could have been "more measured" but he has refused to apologise for what he described as "corrective action" against a doctor. GARD has also demanded a complete ban on any form of videography or photography in the patient care areas, especially in the emergency or casualty department.

The doctors have also called for an end to the “VIP culture” at hospitals, PHCs, and clinics.“We cannot and will not stand by while the dignity of our profession is trampled upon. We urge the chief minister to intervene and restore the sanctity of the doctors’ office and the dignity of the medical profession,” said GARD general secretary Dr Viraj Dessai.He added, “Until these demands are met, we will be staging a silent black armband protest against the very nature of the incident. Barring swift resolution of the incident within 48 hours, we will be forced to escalate our mass protest in the form of a strike.”GARD vice-president Dr Dhairyasheel Patil said that Rane subjected the CMO to “shocking public humiliation.”“Such actions cultivate a climate of fear and intimidation, which is detrimental to patient care. They discourage healthcare professionals from exercising sound clinical judgment in high-pressure environments,” Patil said.He added, “…the morale of the entire healthcare workforce across the state has been grievously undermined by this incident.”GPA-Goa president Dr Shubhash Prabhudessai has demanded an unconditional apology from Rane. “We also demand the immediate and honourable reinstatement of the CMO concerned,” Prabhudessai said. “If our demands are not met within 24 hours, we will suspend medical facilities all over Goa and agitate till justice is delivered.”