GMC’s plastic surgery dept to get burns unit

Panaji: Department of plastic surgery of Goa medical college (GMC) and hospital, Bambolim, will soon be able to start its own burns unit. Its long-pending demand for additional staff for the burns unit has been fulfilled.

Health minister Vishwajit Rane on Thursday told TOI that his government has sanctioned 75 technical and regular staff for the burns and plastic surgery units. The health minister also expressed his desire to further strengthen the plastic surgery department and overall function of GMC.

Currently, the plastic surgery department shares the burns unit with the general surgery department, which has limited beds.

Limited number of beds put constrain on admissions, confessed a GMC doctor. On an average, the burns unit receives 10 to 15 cases every month.

The plastic surgery wing at GMC, which is relatively a new addition, mostly handles pediatric burns, cases of children getting accidental burns.

Chief minister Manohar Parrikar, in his budget speech in March, had announced to establish the state-of-art burns unit at GMC. The unit will have ultra-modern equipment and machinery and trained doctors will be appointed to offer round-the-clock service.