Rudresh Kurtikar, the CMO of the GMCH won’t be suspended according to the Goa CM
Dr. Rudresh Kurtikar, the chief medical officer at the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), has been suspended by Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane due to claims of patient abuse and “arrogant behavior.”
Who is Dr Rudresh Kurtikar as video of Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) CMO being suspended by Health Minister Vishwajit Rane goes viral
Dr. Rudresh, the CMO is an exceptionally competent and compassionate doctor. What you see is a small man with an inflated ego and a camera to capture his pseudo power misbehaving with an on duty doctor. Shame on you @visrane. Also, @DrPramodPSawant, as a doctor and the CM, a… https://t.co/62K0ICMOqz
— Dr. Rishikesh Balvalli (@PathoGuy) June 7, 2025
Goa CM Pramod Sawant has now assured that Dr Rudresh Kurtikar, Casualty Medical Officer at Goa Medical College, will not be suspended after his video went viral.
This came after The Goa Association of Resident Doctors (GARD) had issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, threatening an indefinite strike if their demands are not met. The doctors had condemned the minister’s recent actions, in which Dr Rudresh Kurtikar, a Casualty Medical Officer (CMO) at Goa Medical College was humiliated and arbitrarily suspended. GARD called the recording and dissemination of the incident a grave insult to the medical fraternity.
Dr. Rudresh Kurtikar was suspended on Saturday when Vishwajit Rane made an unexpected trip to the state-run hospital in Bambolim. With more than 1,000 beds, the GMCH serves patients from Goa as well as nearby Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Decades of service and sacrifice by this doctor is met with lack of basic respect and abuse.
The doctor’s side of the story must be heard.
Last I checked, we don’t live in dictatorial county.
This is Dr. Rudresh from Goa medical college and we request his immediate… https://t.co/k6CoYNFoeC
— Dr. Anshul Sadhale (@AnshulGains) June 7, 2025
Dr. Rudresh Kurtikar is the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Goa Medical College and Hospital
A top journalist complained that the doctor in the casualty department was mistreating his mother-in-law, which led to the suspension of Dr. Rudresh Kurtikar.
According to the journalist, the doctor refused to treat a patient. In the casualty ward, Rane and GMCH Medical Superintendent Dr. Rajesh Patil faced off against Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr. Rudresh Kurtikar.
Since then, a video of the incident in which Rane chastises the CMO has gone popular on social media.
In the video, Rane is heard saying, “You learn to control your tongue, you are a doctor.” He also said, “I generally don’t lose my cool, but you have to behave yourself. However loaded (burdened with work), you have to behave properly with patients.”
Citing the doctor’s “arrogant behavior” toward a patient, Rane has defended his decision to suspend him. He accepted full responsibility for his communication style, though, and acknowledged that his tone should have been more measured.
“Yes, as the health minister, I did intervene and I accept that my tone and words could have been more measured. I am not above reflection or criticism. I take full responsibility for how I communicated, and I assure you such an approach will not be repeated. However, what I will not apologise for is standing up for a patient who was denied care,” he said.
According to an official, a patient and a family member had arrived at the casualty department to receive an injection of the vitamin B12. According to the official, “since casualty is only for emergency cases, the doctor instructed the patient to go to the nearby urban health centre for the injection.”
Response from IMA
Opposition parties and the Indian Medical Association are among the groups that have criticized the incident.
https:/twitterx.com/prudentgoa/status/1931618900367774001
The IMA Goa state branch is extremely upset and disappointed by the widely circulated video, which shows the Goan health minister, accompanied by members of the media, entering the Goa Medical College emergency room and, based only on a reported complaint that was communicated over the phone by a press reporter.
They are criticizing the decision to suspend a senior physician from the emergency room without giving him a chance to explain his side of the story and publicly scolding him in a way that amounts to an emotional attack on the on-duty physicians.