Panaji, May 25 (TOI): While the appointment of Sachin Shinde, an IAS officer, as administrator of the Goa medical college (GMC) and hospital, Bambolim, indicated seriousness on the part of government to tackle problems affecting the state's premier healthcare hub, the fact that he functions from the secretariat at Porvorim, instead of from the GMC itself, has raised a few eyebrows.

Shinde, who took the charge last week, has been allotted a cabin in the secretariat. Questions are now being raised on whether he will be able to monitor the administrative functioning of the GMC while sitting at Porvorim.

Some GMC officials are of the opinion that if the government really wants to solve the problems plaguing the hospital, it should have created an office space for Shinde within the complex at Bambolim rather than at the secretariat. "This means that if I have a problem within my department and want it to be addressed immediately, I'll have to follow the rigmarole of formally taking an appointment, putting the problem on paper and, finally, meeting the administrator at Porvorim. This will take at least two to three days to happen," a doctor at the GMC said.

When the government announced the appointment of an administrator two weeks ago, there was a general belief that he would operate from the GMC itself. "I went about searching for his (administrator's) cabin last week, only to be told that he is officiating from the secretariat," said a head of department at the hospital. He went on to add that although he would have liked to discuss the problem at hand with the administrator, "I abandoned the idea when I realized that I would have to sacrifice my consultations at the outpatient department (OPD) to make a trip to Porvorim that day".

Another GMC official said it takes sometimes to get a reply when a file is forwarded to the secretariat. "I'm not joking when I say months because it does happen," the official said on condition of anonymity.
When asked why Shinde hasn't been directed to operate from the GMC, deputy minister Francis D'Souza, who is also health minister , said the GMC administrator would be able to monitor the movement of health-related files better if he functioned from the secretariat.