Goa Chief Minster Pramod Sawant, who turned 47 on Friday, returned to being a doctor by examining patients at a district hospital, where he was once employed.
A Bachelor of Ayurveda Medicine and Surgery (BAMS), Dr. Sawant spent a few hours volunteering with a team of doctors at the district Asilo hospital in north Goa’s Mapusa.
Dr. Sawant said that he had volunteered to assist the government hospital’s out patient department (OPD), to show support to the medical team fighting from the front lines in the battle against coronavirus (COVID-19).
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“Serving the people has always been my passion and source of immense satisfaction. On my birthday today, I volunteered to join the team of doctors at OPD of the District hospital Mapusa,” Dr. Sawant said in a social media post.
Officials said that the Chief Minister spent half a day in the hospital, took a round and examined about 10 patients. “I am examining patients at this hospital for the first time since 2008, when I was employed here,” Dr. Sawant said.
The Chief Minister quit his government job as a doctor of alternative medicine to join politics more than a decade ago.
During his visit, Dr. Sawant condemned the attack on medical staff and front line personnel battling COVID-19 in some parts of India. “Stringent laws enacted by the Union Government against such attacks were the need of the hour to desist such attacks. Goa, he said, is now a corona [virus] free State. We should support the corona warriors including medical and para-medical fraternity to set an example for others to follow and fight against this pandemic,” he said.
Dedicating his birthday to the corona warriors, Dr. Sawant complimented the entire Goa team of doctors including the support staff lead by Dr. Edwin Gomes for their relentless efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus in the State.
