Goa’s healthcare to be transformed in 6 months: Health minister Vishwajit Rane

PANAJI: Health minister Vishwajit Rane on Friday said that he will bring in several more facilities to transform the state’s healthcare services in the next 6 to 8 months.
“Today, many times in the area of healthcare, everybody talks of this so-called model called the Delhi model,” said Rane while kicking off the registration of couples for the free In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) treatment at GMC’s super-speciality block.“Look at the Delhi model, their mohalla clinics and then compare it with our Goa model. We are bringing in robotic surgery. We are going to set up a gastroenterology institute.”
Rane’s comments appeared to be directed at the AAP, particularly at the two AAP MLAs in Goa who have repeatedly highlighted Delhi’s mohalla clinic model while criticising Goa’s rural healthcare system. AAP has spoken about replicating the mohalla clinic model in Goa, something that Rane said he is clearly averse to doing.
The health minister said that the success of the free IVF treatment will spur more states in the country to replicate the model, which is being backed by CSR funding and state government funds.
Meanwhile, Dr. Kedar Phadte, who is one of the key doctors behind the free IVF treatment facility, said, “Some years ago, infertility was just 5% in Goa, today it is 25%. Earlier, it was felt that the women are infertile but it is 50-50 today and half the patients are men.”