Goa doctor rejects health minister’s ‘studio apology’, says apologise at hospital
Dr Rudresh Kuttikar’s suspension was scrapped by chief minister Pramod Sawant oon Sunday after doctors objected to the minister’s conduct
PANAJI: A senior doctor, who was pulled up by Goa health minister Vishwajit Rane at a government hospital last week, on Monday rejected a “heartfelt apology” offered by the minister, insisting that the apology must be made at the hospital where he was humiliated in the first instance.
“I’ve seen the video. It is a studio apology. We, all the doctors, demand that the apology be given where the incident happened in front of the patients. As my humiliation went viral... I was humiliated, so I want everyone to know about the apology... within 24 hours,” Dr Rudresh Kuttikar, the casualty medical officer (CMO) at Goa Medical College and Hospital’s (GMCH) said on Monday on the minister’s expression of regret.
Dr Kuttikar had drawn Rane’s ire on Saturday for allegedly not administering a Vitamin B12 injection to the mother-in-law of a journalist. The doctor asked the woman to head to a primary health centre for the injection, following which the journalist called the minister.
Rane humiliated the senior doctor in the emergency department, announced his suspension and told him to go home on Saturday. The suspension was reversed by chief minister Pramod Sawant the following day. Rane also acknowledged that his “tone and tenor” were not correct and that his choice of words could have been “more measured” but initially declined to apologised.
By Sunday evening, Rane gave in during an interview with a regional news channel and apologised for his conduct to the doctor and his family.
On Monday morning, Rane followed up on his apology and said he “deeply regret[s] the manner in which [he] addressed the situation”.
“I openly extended my heartfelt apology to Dr. Rudresh Kuttikar for the harsh words spoken by me during my visit to GMC. In the heat of the moment, my emotions overtook my expression, and I deeply regret the manner in which I addressed the situation. It was never my intention to undermine or disrespect the dignity of any medical professional,” Rane said.
Dr Kuttikar justified his decision not to give the injection, saying that the casualty department of the state’s premier institute was only following protocol to decline the request.
The doctor explained that the patient should have gone to out patient departments or nearby primary health centres to get a Vitamin B12 injection, not the emergency department of the state’s premier hospital.
“A Vitamin B12 injection is not an emergency injection, so they had to go to the OPDs or nearby PHCs… The Emergency Department of a tertiary hospital treats the highest level of emergencies for Goa, where only serious, critical patients have to be admitted. Nowadays, even minor cases are coming to the GMC emergency department. It is protocol that only serious cases have to be seen. A routine injection is never an emergency,” Dr Kuttikar said.
Dr Kuttikar has received support from the Goa Association of Resident Doctors (GARD) and the Faculty Doctors Association which held a protest on Monday to back the demand for an apology from the minister. They said the protest would be escalated if a public apology wasn’t forthcoming/
“We demand firm assurance from the government that no healthcare professional will ever be subjected to such a degrading and arbitrary ordeal again. [We demand an] end of VIP culture in the clinical setting especially more so in the casualty department with a possible implementation of a policy where treatment in all areas, again emphasising especially in casualty, must be dictated by principles of triage and clinical urgency and not by the social or political status/affiliation of the patient,” GARD said in its memorandum.
“We have sworn an oath to serve patients, and we do so tirelessly. However, we cannot and will not stand by while the dignity of our profession is not trampled upon,” he added.
