Panaji: Health minister Vishwajit Rane on Wednesday said Goa will soon provide physiotherapy, geriatric care and other services at home to senior citizens and patients, including stroke survivors, who cannot travel to hospitals.The services will be delivered through 108 services and involve allied sciences students and others. Patients requiring home care have already been mapped, Rane said.He also called for a structured system for caretakers at GMC, including issuing them identity cards. Families currently pay Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 for caretakers, he said.“We will implement our system at GMC so people don’t have to pay for caretakers,” Rane said.GMC, a govt-run tertiary care hospital, has seen rising demand for caretakers from families of long-stay patients in recent years. A nurse said the absence of a formal system sometimes allowed caretakers to take advantage of patients.The nurse said some caretakers disappeared after patients’ relatives left and did not follow instructions.
