Goa minister Rane recalls poor healthcare in 1990s says father treated in badly equipped ICU

Panaji, Apr 15 (PTI) Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane recalled the day when his father, the then Chief Minister Pratapsingh Rane, was admitted to a badly equipped Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of state-run Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) here following a heart attack.
The junior Rane said the decades-old incident was a turning point in his life and made him then to commit to work to improve medical infrastructure in Goa if he ever enters politics and gets to handle the health department.
Addressing a mega health camp on Sunday at Thivim, the BJP minister recalled how health facilities in the 1990s, when the Congress was a dominant political force in Goa, were in poor condition.
"It was the day when the state government led by my father (Pratapsingh Rane) was toppled. I don't exactly remember the date but it was in 1990 or 1991 and he (Pratapsingh Rane) was in Sankhalim (his hometown in North Goa)," the health minister said.
Pratapsingh Rane (86), a Congress veteran and one of the stalwarts of Goa politics, served as CM multiple times.
The junior Rane said he was then a college student and was in Panaji when he came to know that his father was shifted to the GMCH and admitted to the ICU following a heart attack.
"That time I realised what happens to a person when he is sick. Many of you may not be knowing the condition of GMCH then. There were only two beds in the ICU. On the bed where my father was admitted, a cat was sitting on his chest. It was that bad," he told those present at the health camp.
The BJP leader said at that time, he was not sure whether he would join politics or ever get to handle the health portfolio.
"That memory of bad health infrastructure remained with me. That time, I had thought that if I enter politics and become the health minister, I will be working to improve health facilities," he emphasised.
The junior Rane said his mother told him that if he really wants to serve people then he should start concentrating on the health sector.
"That was the time when I took an oath that I will be working for people," he added.
The minister pointed out that currently every Primary Health Centre and Community Health Centre in the state has healthcare professionals who perform thrombolysis for heart attack patients.
Thrombolysis is a critical emergency treatment for heart attacks and strokes, and helps to restore blood flow to vital organs.
Such patients are later taken to the GMCH for further treatment, the minister said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)