Since June 7, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane has been rightly slammed for his autocratic dressing down of Dr. Rudresh Kuttikar, the Chief Medical Officer at Goa Medical College (GMC). But while the spotlight has remained fixed on Rane’s conduct, it's high time we shift our focus to the other side of the story — the unchecked arrogance and systemic apathy displayed by government doctors, nurses, and medical staff at GMC and other state-run facilities.
Let’s not pretend any longer that these doctors are saints in white coats. On a daily basis, patients and their families are subjected to the same kind of high-handedness and rudeness from medical staff that Rane is being condemned for. The only difference? Doctors do it behind closed doors, under the guise of service, and often without witnesses.
Speak to anyone who has stepped into GMC or any government hospital in Goa — their stories are not of care and compassion but of distress, humiliation, and dehumanization. Patients are often treated like a burden, families like intruders. The government healthcare system, meant to be a safety net, instead feels like a battleground where dignity is the first casualty.
If one does not know a politician, a doctor or a nurse working in GMC or uses external influence, the patients and the relatives are treated like dirt by the same doctors.
Take the most recent example: the Bicholim Health Centre has a board that reads “No Entry for Media Persons.” Who gave them the authority to shut out the press? This brazen display of overreach shows how emboldened government doctors have become. With Rane momentarily cornered, doctors now seem to think they are a law unto themselves.
And now, as if irony had a sense of humour, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and the Goa Association of Resident Doctors (GARD) are up in arms, demanding a public apology from the minister himself — right inside the casualty ward. Not only that, they’re pushing for a slew of unreasonable demands designed to shield them from scrutiny and responsibility.
One of the demands is no VIP culture, ironically they bowed down to the requests of the CM who also is VIP.
Let’s not forget: these very same doctors, whether at GMC, urban clinics, or rural health centres, were educated and are salaried through public money — taxpayer money. Every Goan has contributed to their degrees and continues to fund their monthly salaries and perks. Their service is not a favour; it is a duty.
But what we’re seeing is a disturbing trend: an elite class of government doctors acting with the same entitlement and impunity as Goa’s notorious tourist taxi operators. Like the cabbies who bully tourists and refuse competition, these doctors want to control healthcare on their own terms — no questions asked, no answers given.
We made a mistake once by allowing the taxi mafia to fester unchecked due to political cowardice and vote-bank politics. Let us not repeat that blunder with the healthcare system. We cannot let a privileged few hijack an entire public service.
Accountability is not optional — it is non-negotiable. Government doctors are public servants. That title comes with responsibility, not immunity. If they expect respect, they must earn it through service, not demand it through threats, strikes, and entitlement.
To be absolutely clear: Goans are not asking for miracles. We are demanding humane treatment, transparency, and professionalism; the bare minimum any taxpayer deserves. It’s time government doctors come down from their pedestal and remember who they truly work for.
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