Govt to outsource GMC canteens, says health min

Panaji: The government is in the process of outsourcing canteens at Goa Medical College (GMC) and hospital Bambolim. The decision to outsource the hospital canteens, particularly those that supply food to in-patients, has been taken in a bid to provide quality and nutritious food, said health minister Vishwajit Rane.

Rane said that the government spends Rs 100 per head for providing food to patients, and therefore, it has been decided to ensure that how best this amount can be utilized to provide nutritious food to patients.

The quality of food as well hygiene at GMC came under the scanner last month, after the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) shut down all four canteens within the hospital premises for various violations. One of the reasons for this move was the extremely unhygienic conditions at these canteens. The canteens remained closed for almost 15 days until all the deficiencies pointed out by the FDA team were corrected.

The closure of the canteens had inconvenienced patients to a large extent owing to a lack of eateries in the vicinity of hospital.

Although there are though a few kiosks operating outside the GMC premises selling tea and snacks, with some even serving rice plates, a GMC official said most of these are illegal, and do not meet the hospital requirements.