Woman gets sonography appointment past delivery date at Chandrapur GMCH

Chandrapur: A seven months pregnant woman was given a sonography date that was well past her delivery date, at Chandrapur Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) recently.
On learning about the blunder, state secretary of women Congress Namrata Themaskar Acharya took the GMCH doctors to task and ensured immediate sonogprahy of the distressed woman.“The letter issued with the signature of the medical superintendent shows that the woman was given the date of January 3, next year for free ante natal care (ANC) sonography. How did the medics make such a mistake?” she said.
Acharya said inquiry among patients at GMCH revealed that such blunders are common in the GMCH radiology department. She claimed that there are three full-time time radiologists in GMCH but only one is present at a time, while the private radiologists hired by the hospital “functions in an arbitrary manner”.
She added that two radiologists Dr Mansoor Chini and Dr Navalkishor Rathi were hired by GMCH in the absence of a full-time radiologist in the hospital. However, Dr Chini, who is an on-call doctor, does not do any ANC sonography at GMCH. “Instead, the medics present there provide a slip with the medical superintendent’s signature, with a future date for free ANC sonography at his private hospital,” Acharya charged.
She alleged that the other radiologist Dr Rathi is a full-timer, but never comes to GMCH before 5pm and “does not do ANC sonography” at all.
“Pregnancy is a delicate matter and ultrasound scan is key to check the condition of the baby in the uterus. In such a situation, how can a pregnant woman be given a date for sonography after four months,” she asked. Acharya charged that helpless patients facing difficulties at every step have no option but to avail the costly private sonography option, despite the facility being available at GMCH.
GMCH medical superintendent Dr Sonarkar said there is a need for four radiologists in GMCH, but they have got only one. Three others are private practitioners hired by the hospital.
He added that the regulations in the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act do not allow the registered radiologist to do ANC sonography at more than two places. “Hence, our on-call doctor Chini carries out 8-10 sonographies per day for GMCH at his private hospital. As the number of ANC sonography patients at GMCH is much higher, they are given future dates as per progressing quota,” Sonarkar said.
He further stated, “The medics providing the slips for the date of ultrasound scan, however, did not understand the medical situation of the patient and may have given a date that was post delivery.”