The health condition of Union Minister Shripad Naik, who is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Goa hospital following a major accident on Monday, has improved.
Naik's vital parameters are stable. His blood pressure is normal. He is maintaining an oxygen saturation of 98 per cent, said an official from the Goa Medical College & Hospital (GMCH).
Naik, who is the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH), is being monitored by a joint team of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, and the GMCH. The team from AIIMS had arrived in Goa on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the team of AIIMS doctors extubated Naik (removed the tube inserted to assist him in breathing) and he was put on HFNC (High-flow nasal cannula).
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had on Wednesday said that Naik is conscious and recovering. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who visited the GMCH on Tuesday, had said that if required, Naik will be shifted to New Delhi for further treatment.
Naik, the Member of Parliament (MP) from North Goa constituency, had received injuries, while his wife Vijaya and an aide died on Monday when their car met with an accident near Ankola in Uttar Kannada district while he was returning to his home state Goa from Dharmasthala in neighbouring Karnataka.
GMCH's Dean Dr Shivanand Bandekar had on Tuesday said that when Naik was brought to the GMCH on Monday night, he was critical and four major surgeries were performed on him.
Bandekar had also said that Naik will continue to be in the hospital for another 10 to 15 days, and it will take at least three to four months for him to recuperate completely.
(With PTI inputs)