GMC private wards costly than Pvt hospitals
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 03 April 2013 14:13 IST
Health minister Laxmikant Parsekar has finally agreed to revise the room tariff of private wards at the Goa Medical College.
Members of the Goa Assembly today criticized for fixing private room tariff much higher than the private hospitals.
As informed by Parsekar, the tariff of a single room is Rs 1200, a bed each in double room is Rs 750 and a VIP room Rs 1800.
In addition, he said, the patient has to pay for all other service charges as well as the cost of operation.
Parsekar claimed that these charges are half of the tariff charged by private hospitals in Goa.
Bicholim independent MLA Naresh Sawal as well as Valpoi MLA Vishwajeet Rane, the former health minister, said the GMC should allow high-end facilities to a common man, which he cannot afford in private hospitals.
Chief minister Manohar Parrikar did not buy the argument but said the common man is provided with free of cost facilities in the general wards of the GMC.
“We can recover the cost of common man by charging the patients, who can afford, at private wards”, he said.
Parsekar admitted that the commissioning of the private wards was delayed till 16 March when it was actually inaugurated on 30 May last year.
“It got delayed because the support staff was not recruited and even the tariff was not finalised”, he said.
He however dismissed Sawal’s contention that the private ward was commissioned since Parsekar’s wife had to admitted in the GMC.
As Rane claimed that hardly eight to 10 patients have benefited till date from the private wards due to costly tariff, Parsekar has now agreed to revise it.
