13 July,2011 06:25 AM IST | | Alifiya Khan
Chinchwad hospital may be first govt-run facility to face action for flouting law since crackdown aimed at female foeticide prevention began month ago
Probably for the first time since the crackdown on sonography clinics began more than a month ago, a sonography machine in a hospital run by the government authorities has been sealed. The action was taken about a week ago, after an inspection by a team of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation found certain documents and forms that need to be maintained under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Actu00a0-- the law that prohibits female foeticideu00a0-- were not in place at Chinchwad's Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) hospital. ESIC hospitals are owned and run by the government.
Paperwork problem: The PCPNDT Act requires sonography facilities
to get pregnant women to fill Form F with all required details, but the
ESIC hospital was not maintaining these records properly Representation
pic
Dr Suresh Gupta, additional director, Family Welfare Department, confirmed the action. "Yes, it is true we have sealed the ESIC hospital sonography machine. It doesn't matter if it's a government-run hospital as the law is applicable to all. We found they had not been maintaining Form F properly. Pregnant women are asked to fill the form before sonography. It has all their information and can help us later," said Gupta.
There has been a statewide crackdown on sonography and abortion clinics in recent days, after the discovery of nine female foetuses in a drain in Beed district. As this incident came on the heels of a recent Census report which showed sex ratio had worsened in state in the last decade, it became all the more urgent to crack down on female foeticide.
Dr Gupta said the crackdown would continue on all government hospitals, nursing homes and clinics for a few days. "We had set the target of July 10, but some places are yet to be checked. This time we don't want anything left halfway because of paucity of time and that's why the deadline for raiding clinics is being extended. All registered sonography machines will be checked, whether government or private, and strict action is being taken this time," he said.
City docs hail move
City doctors hailed the move of the government agencies in not sparing their own when it came to the implementation of the law. "Yes, it is a great move indeed and we expected the same out of them as the pressure around implementing the PCPNDT Act has really built up. Since private clinics and machines are getting sealed for not maintaining Form F, they were right in taking the same action against a government-run hospital too," said Dr Sanjay Gupte, member of the central committee appointed by the Union Health Ministry for the PCPNDT Act.
Some doctors also expressed surprise at the fact that a government-run hospital was violating norms. "Aren't they supposed to set an example for others? This goes to show that they don't follow their own rules. And this was always the case, the only difference now is that someone bothered to check. Another way of looking at it is, if their own hospitals can make such minor mistakes, with no intention of sex-selection tests, so can private clinics," said a leading radiologist, who requested anonymity. "So is a minor clerical mistake, enough reason for sealing a sonography machine?"
