Health officials under scanner

By SNV Sudhir

Visakhapatnam, June 26, 2013: The district medical and health office (DM & HO) is under a cloud owing to strict action not being taken against sex determination clinics doing roaring business in Vizag.

No action is being taken against such clinics despite a stringent law—the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC & PNDT) Act being in place.

The law aims at stopping female foeticide so as to arrest the country’s fast declining female ratio. Under the Act a prenatal sex determination is completely banned.  Sources said the The DM & HO appears to be non serious about controlling female foeticide or sex selected abortions in Vizag. Despite strict norms and guidelines under the PC & PNDT Act, there are no checks on ultra sound scanning centres for sex determination tests.  

According to 2011 Census, the sex ratio in the city was 977 females per 1,000 males and child sex ratio of girls was 959 per 1,000 boys.  Though an advisory committee was set up after a Supreme Court’s ruling long back it did not meet regularly till now.

The commissioner of health and family welfare wrote to district collector to inquire into the alleged corruption in the DM & HO in registration of hospitals and on the ‘non implementation’ of the PC & PNDT Act. 

In the letter a copy of which is with Deccan Chronicle, the family welfare commissioner asked the district collector to conduct an inquiry into the alleged corruption and submit a report to him.

According to the Act, DM & HO has to maintain a monthly record of the detailed activities of the ultrasound scanning centres and it should include all details relating to pregnant women, who underwent the scanning besides the results of the test and the doctor treating the patient.

But, sources in district medical and health office, said that proper records are not being maintained. It is mandatory that all scanning centres have to get themselves enrolled and registered and renew their licenses periodically.  There are around 60 to 70 ultra sound scanning centres in the district and more than 30 unauthoirsed centres in the city.  

“It’s an open secret that officials turn a blind eye to certain sex determination clinics. As a result, those owning such centres go scot free,” said a staff member at DM & HO.