Each doctor in Goa costs state Rs 77.44 lakhs

Each doctor in Goa costs state Rs 77.44 lakhs
Preetu Nair, TNN

PANAJI: The state spends approximately Rs 77.44 lakh on every student graduating from the Goa medical college and hospital, yet once armed with a medical degree few of them opt for government service.

Over 95% of doctors who obtain their degree through the GMC never work in the public sector. “Majority of the doctors don’t stay on in Goa. They either go abroad for higher studies or join other institutes or corporate hospitals as the salary is higher,” said head of department of pathology and medical education cell of GMC Dr R Wiseman Pinto.

There are currently 56 vacancies at the GMC (28 senior residents and 27 consultants), and 80 at the directorate of health services for doctors and other specialists. As many as nine DHS health centres are functioning without a medical officer.

Pinto conducted a survey, a first-of-its-kind study, to determine the cost of training at GMC. This was computed through the traditional method of total expenses as against the number of the students, he said. The Rs 77.44 lakh includes direct costs (faculty salaries and stipends) and indirect costs (non-teaching personnel salaries, equipment, books, civil works, machinery and scholarships) incurred by the state’s only teaching hospital.

“For any student, the entire expenditure at GMC has to be taken into account because all expenses are for the students’ benefit. There are at present about 547 students at the GMC,” said Dr Pinto.

As against the expenditure, general category students pay a fee of about Rs 1.14 lakh for the MBBS course, while reserved category students pay Rs 58,620 and all India students pay about Rs 1.15 lakh. This doesn’t include the hostel fee of Rs 1,000 per year.

There is, however, a solution to curb the brain drain, though the government is yet to implement it.
“Medical students joining the course sign a bond which has a clause that should the government require them to work in the public sector for a year, they would have to do so. In case they fail to work then they would have to pay a fine of Rs 2 lakh if they have a MBBS degree or Rs 3 lakh if they have a PG qualification,” said Pinto.

15 May 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition