HEALTH

Very few women orthopaedics surgeons in country
By Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 13 — In today’s world of empowerment, equal opportunities and status, very few women choose to become orthopaedic surgeons. Dr Sureshwar Pandey, a senior orthopaedician from Ranchi and secretary-general of the Indian Foot Society, who was recently in the city to attend the XIV Annual Foot Society Conference , revealed that there are hardly about five women orthopaedic surgeons in the country.

Dr M.S. Dhillon, Associate Professor, Department of Orthopaedics PGI agrees. “During my 13 years of service with the institute and a career spanning over 19 years , I have hardly known a woman orthopaedic surgeon. In fact, to the best of my knowledge, except for one Army doctor in the Command Hospital, Chandi Mandir, there are no women orthopaedic doctors in the entire region.”

Dr Dhillon adds that the PGI, which happens to be the only institute in the city to be offering a postgraduate course in orthopaedics, has had just one woman student.” In 1990, a girl from the Northeast called Dr Valencia Myrbok did her postgraduation from the institution. In contrast, about 159 male doctors have postgraduation degree in orthopaedics from this institute.”

The fact is that there is not a single woman orthopaedics doctor in the city. “Let alone Chandigarh, our orthopaedics association, which has its secretariat in the PGI, has 405 doctors as members from all over Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and parts of Delhi. However, there is not even a single women orthopaedician as its member,” adds Dr Dhillon.

The only reason that male doctors give for lack of interest amongst their women colleagues for becoming orthopaedicians is the misconception that for becoming one a lot of physical strength is required. “Just like there are very few male gynaecologists, there are hardly any women orthopaedics surgeons,” says Dr R.S. Kulkarni, Civil Surgeon from the Civil Hospital Sindhunagri in Maharashtra. Incidentally, Dr Kulkarni’s wife Dr Ruta Kulkarni is an orthopaedician and the only woman who attended the Annual Foot Society conference.

Captain Bharti Kalyani from the Command Hospital, Chandi Mandir, had registered for the conference but did not attend. “The general impression is that the management of fractures and other bone injuries requires a lot of physical, strength which of course is nothing but a misconception,” says Dr Kulkarni.

“This could have been true way back in 1900, about 100 years back when traction and fracture setting did require a lot of physical strength.” However, modern technology, aids, mechanical devices and appliances have made things very easy and simple, adds Dr Dhillon.

Dr Dhillon says that even abroad there are very less women orthopaedicians. “In the last international conference at Edinburgh, I had come across a couple of Swedish women orthopaedicians. It is perhaps the only country where women doctors seem to be taking interest in this speciality.”

Dr Sangeeta Singh, a gynaecologist, has a very apt reason for this peculiar phenomenon. “Patients feel more confident with a male orthopaedician than they do with a woman. It is more of a social compulsion than anything else. Just like a woman prefers visiting a woman gynaecologist than a male doctor,” she adds.

Hearing aid is no more a stigma
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 13 — On the third day of the WHO workshop on “Orientation training of masters trainers for disability prevention and rehabilitation” at GMCH-32, Prof Arjun Das, Head of the ENT Department, pointed out that ear could be affected by various diseases leading to hearing disability and handicap in the life of an individual.

In his talk, he enumerated various causes of hearing loss which could affect the human ear in the foetus (before birth), during the process of labour i.e. childbirth or even after the birth of the child. He also discussed various levels of prevention of hearing disability. He emphasised that by taking simple measures like giving nutritious diet to expecting mothers, proper antenatal care, including immunisation during pregnancy, undertaking the delivery in the presence of trained personnel could prevent many such disabilities. While talking about adult deafness, Dr Das emphasised that periodic exposure to loud sounds as in certain industries and also use of certain ototoxic drugs without proper monitoring could be harmful for the individual.

Dr Nitin M. Nagarkar from the ENT Department, GMCH-32, discussed the importance of screening of hearing loss at an early age so as to make early diagnosis and undertake appropriate measures at the earliest. He also stressed on the early detection of hearing loss in the elderly people and the industrial workers.

Mr Ravi Kapoor, Audiologist-cum-Speech Therapist, GMCH, disclosed that hearing aids were usually considered a stigma and there was the need to remove the social stigma associated with hearing aids. He said that hearing aids were like eye-glasses and should be accepted in the same way. He pointed out that deafness in children hampered the normal development of the child and, thus, use of hearing aids at an early age was important for ensuring normal development. Talking on the subject of speech therapy, he stressed that normal speech and language development took place in the first six years of life and for this hearing played a very important role. If a child was not developing proper speech, guidance from a speech therapist should be sought at an early period in order to prevent permanent disability.

Ms Sandeep Kaur, audiologist, GMCH-32, talked about alternative methods of communication in a child with impaired hearing which include speech, gestures and sign language. Learning these methods was very important for these children for their proper adjustment in the society, otherwise the child would be isolated from the community. 

ESIC helps a heart patient
By Pradeep Sharma
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 13 — The Regional office of the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has once again come to the help of a heart patient and saved his life by releasing timely advanced payment for his super-speciality treatment at the PGI here.

For the patient, Mr Prem Singh, an employee of a fast food restaurant, timely help has proved a boon and he is back to work after a major surgery recently.

It may be recalled that the monetary help to Mr Prem Singh was extended under a special scheme of the ESIC for the factory workers, which had been launched with a view to avoiding delays in the super-speciality treatment where the medical expenses ran in lakhs of rupees.

In November last year, he was admitted to General Hospital, Sector 16, following a heart attack. After initial treatment, he was discharged but advised immediate heart surgery.

At the PGI, he was advised to undergo the revascularisation in the form of coronary angioplasty stent replacement. Ultimately, a bypass surgery was planned and Rs 76,600 worked out to be deposited as advance payment. The payment was sanctioned by the ESIC and a operation was performed on him.

Talking to The Tribune here today, Mr Prem Singh said but for the financial help extended by the ESIC, he would not have managed to collect such a huge amount. Terming the special scheme as ideal, he was of the view that it would go a long way in the super-speciality treatment of poor persons like him who found it difficult to collect the amount in one go.

He informed that he had spent Rs 1.75 lakh on his treatment, including on tests and medicines. The rest of the amount would also be refunded to him once he deposited the bills, Mr Arun Kumar, Joint Director of the ESIC, said.

And apart from that he was granted Rs 31,000 as sickness benefits for the nine months he was hospitalised so that his family did not have to suffer, Mr Arun Kumar said.

33.75 lakh to get pulse polio drops
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 13 — As many as 33,75,000 children in the age group of zero to five will be given polio drops in 17,352 intensive pulse polio immunisation camps in Punjab this year, said Dr R.S. Sandhu, Director, Health Services, Punjab, while addressing members of the state-level coordination and mass media committees here today.

Dr Sandhu said that there would be three rounds of the campaign on November 5 and December 10, 2000, and January 21, 2001, which will also include door-to-door visits in the state. The target of the campaign is to cover all the children up to the age of five. The state has had no-polio cases as on August 31, he added.

Dr Sandhu added that a high-burden zone comprising the states of Delhi, Utter Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal would have four rounds during September, November and December this year and January, 2001. The middle zone, which includes Assam, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana would have three rounds. The low-burden zone comprising remaining states would have two rounds in December, 2000, and January, 2001.

Dr Kulwant Kaur, Assistant Director, DHS, Punjab, said that awareness about the usefulness of the campaign was not there in some parts of the country. She urged the schools, panchayats, social welfare departments and the media to play an important role in encouraging the people to participate in the campaign through social mobilisation activities.

Mrs Jasbir Kaur Bawa, Mass Media and Education Officer, DHS, Punjab, lamented that urban and high-class segments of society were ignoring the pulse polio campaign with their negligent participation. She added that messages for the masses should be conveyed in Punjabi as well as Hindi.

Data related to surveillance indicates that India has 68 per cent of the total global cases in the year 1998, whereas in 1999, the figure had come down to 39 per cent. This year, till August, 2000, 101 cases were recorded.

Glaucoma detection made easy
By Poonam Batth
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 13 — The Department of Ophthalmology, PGI, has recently acquired the latest state-of-the-art field Analiser for testing the patients who have glaucoma (kala motia) or are suffering from other Neurological disorders.

Procured at a cost of Rs 12 lakh from the Humphrey Systems, the new machine has several innovations, which will considerably reduce the testing time. One of this is SITA (Swedish Interactive Threshold Algorhythm), which will provide accurate information. Highlighting the benefits of the machine, the head of the department, Dr Amod Gupta, said testing with the help of this computerised machine will give us short wavelength automated perimetery (swap). “It will now be possible to detect glaucoma at its earlier stage by mapping the retina function.’’ he added. It will also be possible to ascertain whether the defect is increasing or is stable.

Dr Gupta said this machine will be a boon for the patients of the region as nearly 4000 patients suffering with glaucoma visit the PGI annually. Figures reveal that as many as 365 patients visited the glaucoma clinic only last month. Glaucoma is a disease, which is detected on screening, the world over. It is asymptomatic till it is diagnosed. However, currently techniques are available in the world to diagnose the damage to the optic nerve fibres by the time the disease is developing. Dr Gupta further added that emphasis now is on developing these techniques which will accurately predict the development of glaucoma. The highly sensitive equipment will ensure that they do not miss out patients of glaucoma or that those suffering from the disease are not overtreated.

According to Dr Amod Gupta, generally people above the age of 40 years or those who have someone in the family suffering from glaucoma should be mandatorily screened for glaucoma. For if the defect is detected too late, the damage to vitaloptic nerves is irretrievable. However, if doctors make the diagnosis on the basis of checking pressures of the eye nervos, there are chances that one third of the glaucoma patients may be missed out.

Hence, one should combine the pressure testing observation of the nerve fundus examination with the other screening. This will help analyse the optic nerve head appearance.

The new machine, which has been put to use since yesterday, will help us actually chart out the damaged areas on a perimeter in cases of serious neurological disorders, said Dr Gupta. All this was not possible earlier through the old Japanese model of the machine, which had become obsolete. Patients suffering from the problem were being referred to the GMCH-32, which has been offering this facility since 1996. The testing time for checking retina sensitivity varies from 15 minutes to half an hour.

Meanwhile, the department has also added two microscopes, to be used for various eye surgeries. It already has three advanced ones and this addition will only help strengthen the infrastructure. 

Minister visits hospital
From Our Correspondent

KHARAR, Sept 13 — Ms Mohinder Kaur, State Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, paid a surprise visit to Civil Hospital, Kharar, this evening and checked the presence of doctors and staff.

She visited the wards of the hospital and checked the records.

Talking to The Tribune, Ms Mohinder Kaur said that she was not very much satisfied with the cleanliness in the hospital and even bed-sheets were not clean.

She promised to look into the demand for providing more facilities in the hospital. She said that strict action would be taken against the doctors who were found making false medico-legal reports.

SPORT

City hopes for a hit national meet
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Sept 13 — The forthcoming Junior National Badminton Championships in Chandigarh from November 15 to 23 will be good for the sport in the city. The Chandigarh Badminton Association will organise this meet for the first time. Mr D.K. Mukerjee, recalled how in 1970, he had founded the association with Mr N.N. Vohra, IAS.

In those days the city players had to play for Punjab. To represent Punjab was no less an achievement than representing India. Punjab had players like Devinder Ahuja a former India number two, and Kanwal Thakur Singh, a former Commonwealth Games medallist. Mr Mukerjee said he was able to persuade the then President of the Badminton Association of India, Mr Fazil Ahmed, to affiliate the CBA to the BAI.

The CBA organises an annual state badminton championships, beside the other tournaments. It had also conducted the North Zone Inter-State Badminton Championships some year ago. Mr Mukerjee said it used to be difficult in those days for the CBA to obtain the permission to host any meet because it involved a lot of money. It was a difficult task without any sponsorship.

Mr Mukerjee said the new CBA team headed by Mr Gian Chand Gupta was highly efficient. Mr T.P.S. Puri, a former national coach, who had successfully conducted the Senior National Championship in 1995 at Patiala, is the present Secretary of the CBA.

However, due to high costs of shuttlecocks and racquets, youngsters in the city do not want to take up the sport.

Badminton used to be ignored by the media. However, the media has changed its attitude lately. The semi-finals and finals of the forthcoming national meet will be shown live on Doordarshan. Mr Puri, an International Badminton Federation expert, said there would be enough funds in the kitty of the CBA after the tournament. He said he hoped that the Sector 42 hall would be renovated before the national tournament in November. Mr Puri said the UT Administration had promised to support the CBA in organising the event. Ms Vineeta Rai, Adviser to the UT Administrator, Mr M.P. Singh, Commissioner of the MCC and Chairman of the organising committee, and Mr K.A.P. Sinha, Joint Secretary Finance, had promised support to the CBA.

The Punjab Local Bodies Minister, Mr Balramji Dass Tandon, after the finals of the Chandigarh State Badminton Championships on September 10, had announced a grant of Rs 50,000 for the CBA. We can assume that after this meet, budding badminton players of the city will have a better future.

DPI (Schools) revises sport schedule
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Sept 13— The Department of Public Instructions (schools) Punjab have revised some of the sports events for its Punjab School Games to be held later this month. Disclosing this Mr Pritam Singh Chhabra, State Sports Organiser Schools, Punjab, said basketball (under-17, 19-boys and girls), table tennis (under-14, 17, 19-boys and girls) and lawn tennis (under-14, 17, 19-boys and girls) are to be held at Amritsar from September 16 to 19, while on same dates, roller skating (under-14, 17, 19-boys and girls), wrestling (under-14, 17-only girls) and volleyball (under-19-boys and girls) events are to be held at Patiala. The other sports whose dates remained unchanged but venues changed included, kho-kho (under-19-boys and girls) at Gurdaspur, wrestling (under-19-only girls) and football-under-17-only boys) at Muktsar and kabaddi (under-19, 14 -boys and girls) will be at Moga. Talwandi Sabo (Bathinda) will host volleyball for (under-14, 17 girls) and kho-kho (under-17) from September 16 to 18.

Kapurthala will play host to basketball for under-14 category and kho-kho for under-14, boys and girls, from September 24 to 28. Mahilpur will have football events for under-19 boys and for under-14 boys at Malerkotla. Mansa will have kabaddi events for under-17 boys again from September 25 to 28. Handball events will be held from September 21 to 24 for under-14, under-19 boys and girls and ball badminton in under-14 and under-19 boys at Ferozepore from September 25 to 28. Cricket will be held at Nangal for under-19 girls from October 3 to 6 while for

under-19 boys from October 28 to 31. Judo for under-14, 17 category and under-19 for boys and girls will be held at Patiala.

City shooters win 9 medals
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Sept 13 — City shooters won two gold, five silver and two bronze medals in the Xth G.V. Mavlankar National Shooting Championships which conlcuded yesterday at Chennai. Vijay Pal Singh, Secretary of the Chandigarh Rifle Association, said Chetanpreet Kaur, the junior national squad member, had created a new national record in the Air Rifle Peep Sight sub-junior section. She improved upon the old record of Sabeeha Dhillon of 354/400 to 371/400. Chetanpreet Kaur also won the silver medal in the senior category of the same event with the same score.

Jasbir Singh Dhillon stole the limelight by scoring 514/600 in .22 Standard Rifle (NR) prone junior men and clinched gold. Aarti Mehta sweeped four medals which included two silver and two bronze in .22 Standard Rifle prone, 3 position and Air Rifle open sight (NR) event. Another city shooter Jatin Kukreja won the silver in Air Rifle open sight (NR) junior men section and scored 316/400. Gurparnit Singh bagged silver medal in the Air Rifle open sight (NR), sub-junior men, scoring 302/400.

Mahatma Hansraj Cricket Tourney
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Sept 13 — Nitin Mehtani stole the show for C.L. DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 11, Panchkula, when he outplayed Hansraj Public School, Sector 6, Panchkula, to sail into the final in the Mahatma Hansraj Cricket Tournament (under-19) to be held at DAV Public School, Thermal Colony, Panipat. Nitin scored 37 runs in 38 deliveries and also took three wickets for 22 runs.

Hansraj School won the toss and elected to bat. They scored 111 runs in the allotted 25 overs. Saurabh Sharma with 22 and Nitin Gandhi with 17 runs were the main scorers for the HPS. In reply, C.L. DAV School made 113 runs in 23 overs at the loss of six wickets. Nitin scored 37 and Mandeep 17. C.L. DAV will now meet DAV Thermal School, Panipat, in the final. 

ADMINISTRATION

Poles and cables to be replaced
From Our Correspondent

PANCHKULA, Sept 13 — The district administration has decided to replace all the old electricity cables and poles to improve the electric voltage in the vicinity of Pinjore and Kalka.

Mr S.K. Monga, Deputy Commissioner, while chairing a meeting of the Haryana Viduyat Prasaran Nigam, said that all the naked electricity cables and old poles would be replaced by the year-end.

The Executive Engineer of the nigam disclosed that the department had identified 15 areas facing the low-electricity problem. He said that a 100-KV transformer would be installed to solve the problem. The capacity of a transformer in Saini Mohalla will be upgraded from 100 kv to 200 KV.

More than 15 complaints against the cleanliness of kisan mandis and sanitation of areas were taken up by the Commissioner. He ordered officials of the Haryana Urban Development Authority to shift all the kisan mandis to the new anaz mandi in Sector 20. The marketing board authorities were also asked to repair the roads and make arrangements of proper lights and parking. He directed the District Town Planner to chalk out sites for public toilets. 

MCC lists priorities
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 13 — Senior officers of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) at a meeting here today fixed priorities for the various development works to be undertaken by the civic body.

According to sources, the development work of Pocket No. 1 in Mani Majra, the commercial area which is to be auctioned by the corporation, would be taken up on priority basis. Similarly, the work under the Ward Development Fund would be expedited.

It was also decided to make the collection of the water bills fast. Besides, the meeting, which was presided over by the Commissioner, Mr M.P. Singh, also decided to speed up the payment of the instalments of various commercial property sold off by the MCC. The budget proposals of the next financial year were also discussed.