Goa assembly passes bill protecting medical practitioners

Goa Legislative Assembly today passed a bill giving protection to medical and para-medical practitioners notwithstanding the reservations expressed by half a dozen members from the opposition as well as the ruling benches.

State Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and Health Minister Laxmikant Parsekar defended the bill claiming that it "aims to give physical protection to the medical and para-medical practitioner while on duty."

The Opposition benches demanded that the bill should be referred to the select committee before it is passed in the House.

Few legislators from the treasury benches, too, expressed their reservation over this landmark bill.

The Goa Medicare Service Personnel and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of violence and damage or loss to property) Bill, 2013 was passed by the house with the voice vote.

The bill provides security to the medical professionals and the hospitals or related property from the violence in which usually the relatives of the patient indulge.

It also envisages setting up a committee to take up the cases of medical negligence.

Expressing his objection to the bill, Congress legislator Aleixo Reginaldo questioned why protection is being provided "only to one class of professionals".

Mauvin Godinho, another Congress legislator, said that the state government should readdress the issue of patients, who suffer at the hands of unruly doctors.