Goa: Soon, GMC to be manned by 142 CCTV cams

PANAJI: The proposal to install 142 CCTV cameras at Goa Medical College was approved at the Goa state infrastructure development corporation (GSIDC) board meeting held last week.
The approval comes a year after plans to install CCTV cameras in the tertiary care hospital, were announced. The cameras are mainly being set up for enhanced security.
The GSIDC board has approved the proposal for taking up supply, installation, testing and commissioning of a CCTV system at GMC, an official said.
A block estimate of Rs49 lakh has been prepared and a tender will be shortly floated, the official said.
GMC had moved a proposal to the GSIDC, which is also in charge of hospital maintenance, and had conveyed the in-principle approval it had received from the government.
Soon after taking over the health portfolio in 2017, health minister Vishwajit Rane had announced a slew of measures to upgrade quality of service at the GMC.
A GMC doctor said that CCTV cameras are must in such a big public healthcare facility as there have been instances of people being conned in the past. “Not all cases get reported,” he said. CCTV cameras also instill fear among hospital staff that don’t believe in following their work schedule, the doctor said.
He said that another important measure announced by the government, that of introducing a system to facilitate booking of appointments, is yet to be implemented.