New Delhi: The doctors protesting in Goa resumed routine services on Wednesday (June 11) after reaching an agreement with the state government.

Casualty medical officer (CMO) Dr Rudresh Kuttikar was castigated by Goa's health minister V. Rane in a 'surprise visit’ to the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Bambolim on Saturday. Rane lashed out at the CMO in the casualty department and asked the medical superintendent to suspend him.

To try and control the damage, Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant announced on Sunday that Kuttikar would not be suspended.

The protesting doctors and the state government signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday in which most of the former's demands, including that there be no interference in a CMO's decisions on triaging as well as that a disciplinary committee be formed at the GMCH, appear to have been accepted. In exchange, a number of doctors who abstained from routine work on Tuesday protested agreed to return to work.

Kuttikar was one of the signatories. Members of the Goa Association of Resident Doctors and the hospital's administration too agreed to the understanding reached.

A day prior to the resumption of work, Kuttikar had rejected the apology that Rane had initially offered on X and later while speaking to TV channels. Kuttikar demanded that Rane go to the same casualty department where he berated him and apologise there.

As per the minutes of the meeting in which the memorandum was arrived at, Sawant stressed that Rane had already tendered an apology and that should suffice. In order to placate the agitating doctors, Sawant visited the GMCH. The health minister, however, did not visit the hospital – something that was initially demanded.

The doctors had also demanded that videography inside the hospital must not be allowed. Rane, incidentally, had got Saturday's incident wherein he scolded Kuttikar filmed, and the video went viral on social media.

Sawant directed the hospital's dean and medical superintendent to ensure the prohibition of videography and photography in the ‘patient care area’.

The Goa Association of Resident Doctors had also demanded that ‘VIP culture’ must end, and to that effect demanded that politicians must not interfere in the working of the doctors.

This demand was made against the backdrop of a patient allegedly being refused administration of a vitamin B-12 shot in the emergency department of the GMCH, which led them to complain against Kuttikar.

This apparently made Rane visit the hospital to conduct what he described as an ‘inspection’, during which he hauled up Kuttikar.

The latter in his capacity as CMO had rightfully refused the administration of a vitamin B-12 injection in the emergency/casualty department.

Therefore the doctors demanded that the call on triaging – determining how urgent the need for a patient to be attended by a doctor is – must be entirely left to the discretion of the CMO.

Sawant, according to the minutes of the meeting, ‘advised’ that this process would be followed strictly.

The other demands included the formation of a disciplinary committee at the GMCH to ensure the redressal of complaints, which Sawant acceded to.

 The chief minister also ensured that no disciplinary action would be taken against the protesting doctors.

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