HEALTH

Need for rural health policy, says Dr Dave
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 22
With institutes like AIIMS and PGI bursting at the seams due to patient overload, the former AIIMS Director, Dr P.K. Dave, today stressed the need for having a rural health policy so as to strengthen services in the periphery along with a proper referral system.

“Unfortunately, the states have not taken care of the health policy despite it being a state subject and this is affecting services in tertiary care institutes like AIIMS and PGI,” he opined. Dr Dave, is in the city to attend the national conference on Hospital Management at PGI.

He said having a rural health policy was the only solution to reduce the burden on referral institutes. “It must be mandatory for every doctor to serve in the rural areas for at least three years, after which he should be given a choice posting or be allowed to go in for post graduation,” he remarked. Every state capital needs to have a super-speciality hospital, so that people do not have to rush to tertiary care hospitals even for routine matters, he added.

He felt there was an urgent need to have an institutionalised referral system in a poor country like India so that there was a credible mechanism and people do not rush to tertiary care hospitals.

85 pc people go to private doctors, say WB surveys
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 22
With World Bank surveys indicating that 85 per cent of people go to the private sector in case of a medical emergency, Haryana planes to integrate private doctors, registered medical practitioners and anganwari workers into various national health programmes.

“During the next one year, we will bring all these people under the ambit of national programmes, as their participation and involvement is a must for reaching out to every individual,” he remarked. He was speaking at a state-level workshop on “Importance of girl child and prevention of female foeticide” being organised here.

The workshop is being organised by an NGO, Family Planning Association of India, having its branches in Mohali, Panchkula and Yamunagar, under the aegis of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

“As per the World Bank survey, almost close to 85 per cent of the people in India approach private doctors in case of an emergency, yet the private health sector has not been included in various national programmes,” said Mr Rajkumar.

He said problems like shortage of medicines, non-availability of doctors at primary health centres and anganwari workers not visiting rural areas, made the delivery of health services very poor.

He said under one of the schemes, the government would give Rs 20 to a private doctor to attend to a patient, who would have to pay only Rs 5 from his pocket. This move, he said was aimed at mainstreaming the private health sector into the national programmes for better results.

He said instead of focussing on information and education activities, be it in case of family planning programme or in efforts aimed at curbing female foeticide, attention should be paid towards better delivery of health services to the public.

Giving details of the policy reforms initiated in Haryana, he said computerised inventory system had been implemented right up to the primary level and attention was being paid towards better delivery of healthcare facilities to people, especially in rural areas. Speaking about the Family Planning programme, he said there were a lot of unmet needs and people had to wait for long and at times they were turned away from government hospitals.

“It is high time that we take concrete steps to check the declining sex ratio, which has further gone down in the recent past, as denial and hushing up the matter will not address the problem,” said Mr Rajkumar. He said the problem of female foeticide was a social issue, which was directly linked with the status of women and dowry problem.

Unsafe abortions claim 20,000 lives every year
Monica Sharma

Chandigarh, February 22
An estimated four million unsafe abortions are carried out every year in the country. About 20,000 women die due to such abortions every year. In fact, eight to 15 per cent of maternal deaths occur due to unsafe abortions.

This is not all. As many as 25 per cent girls do not even survive till they are 15-day old. Nearly 74 per cent of the children are anaemic and four million Indians are HIV infected.

The Family Planning Association of India further reveals that abortions carried out for the purpose of female foeticide are generally “mid-trimester” and involve greater risk.

The complications of such abortions include ‘infection leading to chronic pelvic inflammation’, ‘blockage of fallopian tube’ and ‘excessive bleeding that leads to anemia’. It can also result in ‘infury to cervix’, besides ‘pulmonary embolism leading to death’. Psychological problems cannot be ruled out either.

Members of the association say that diagnostic techniques devised to know about the wellbeing of foetus are being misused for sex determination followed by female foeticide. Majority of the techniques are not totally safe.

In fact, there are four to 12 per cent chances of spontaneous abortion while employing ‘Chorion Villous Biopsy technique’ for diagnosing hereditary diseases and congenital defects in foetus. It can also result in infection.

Aminogentesis techniques for antenatal diagnosis of hereditary diseases is relatively safe with just one per cent risk. But it can also result in abortion or premature delivery, besides infection, bleeding, hip dislocation, needle-puncture mark on the baby’s body and respiratory complications.

Ultrasonography, used to know details of congenital malformations in the foetus and gynecological diseases, has gained immense popularity as prenatal sex determination technique between 14 and16 weeks of pregnancy. As a result, such centres have mushroomed even in small towns. The accuracy of the test depends on the type of the machine and the competence of the ultrasonologist.

For tackling the problem, ‘Importance of Girl Child and Prevention of Female Foeticide Project 2002-03’ has been launched by the association. The broad objective is to bring about attitudinal and behavioural change regarding the importance of girl child and prevention of female foeticide. The Girl Child and Prevention of Female Foeticide Project has also been launched.

‘Operation Rainbow’ restores their colours of life 
Our Correspondent

Mohali, February 22
It was a special day for the local Civil Hospital as operations by a team of doctors from Canada to give a “new face” to children suffering from deformities began today. Six doctors along with nurses, all associated with Operation Rainbow, Canada, a non-government organisation, came well-equipped to perform at least 100 corrective surgeries of cleft lip and cleft palate over a period of 10 days, free of cost.

The hospital has registered 118 patients, mostly children, so far, and the doctors will have their hands full in the next few days with the number of surgery registrations expected to go up.

Arrangements for the medical camp, which is the brainchild of the Deputy Speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Mr Bir Devinder Singh, have been made by the Punjab Health Systems Corporation. A temporary intensive care unit has been set up in the hospital. Attendants of the patients have been offered free board and lodging at Shivalik Public School here and at a temple. Langar is being provided by gurdwaras. Help has also come for the camp from the Rotary Club, the Mohali Industries Association and Ranbaxy.

Dr Kimit Rai, Director and Chairperson of Operation Rainbow, who is heading the team, said at a function organised to inaugurate the camp that his organisation was a non-profit body which had a large number of volunteers apart from surgeons, anaesthetists, paediatricians and nurses. Donations were collected from people by way of charity. The funds were used to perform operations in various countries. “We give our own time and effort without charging anything,” he said.

He introduced the entire team to the gathering. The doctors involved in the humanitarian cause are, apart from Dr Rai, Dr Donald Fitzpatrick, Dr Jenifer Druker, Dr Robert Pundy, Dr Katherine Bailey and Dr R. Kalyan Raman.

Mr Bir Devinder Singh said when he visited Canada, he was impressed with the work of Operation Rainbow and requested the NGO to put India on his itinerary. He appreciated the positive response from the NGO as well as the government departments concerned here. The Medical Council had cleared the visit of the doctors’ team.

He said as many as 47 of the 118 cases registered for operations belonged to Ropar district. Fourteen cases were from Chandigarh. He said post-operative care would be done by doctors from medical colleges in Punjab. In future, he said, such camps would be organised with the help of local doctors.

The Deputy Speaker said it was unfortunate that in certain areas in South India, children suffering from cleft lip and cleft palate were considered inauspicious. They were often done to death by feeding them cactus milk.

Mr Bir Devinder Singh appealed to people to “adopt” children at the camp during the period of treatment.

The Secretary, Health, Mr D.S. Guru, said deformities such as cleft and cleft palate could be avoided to a great extent by laying stress on proper nutrition during pregnancy. Tobacco and alcohol should be avoided during pregnancy.

The Chairman of the Punjab Health Systems Corporation, Col C.D. Singh Kamboj (retd), requested Dr Rai, to visit the state once again next year.

SPORTS

500 students take part in marathon
Our Sports Reporter

Chandigarh, February 22
More than 500 students including teachers took part in a marathon run organised by the Kendriya Vidyalya Sangathan in Sector 31. Earlier, Milkha Singh flagged off the marathon. He urged the students to have determination and diligence in their life to achieve their objectives. Flying Sikh further hoped that these institutions would produce excellent sportsmen and athletes.

The students of Class VI to VIII and girls of Class IX traversed a one and half kilometre. Streched back to the starting line, the boys of Class IX thumped a three-kilometre stretch to complete a hilarious and exuberant show.

The students were divided into two groups-junior and senior, Class VI to VIII and IX to XII, respectively. As many as 40 students from each school (20 from each group) participated in the event.

In the senior section, Ritesh of KV-47 and Manisha of KV, Pinjore, bagged first prizes. Vivek of KV-1, Chandi Mandir, and Rekha of KV, Pinjore, secured second place. Third place went to Deepak of KV-1, Chandi Mandir, and Prema of KV-31, Chandigarh. In the junior section, Chanderbhan of KV-1, Chandi Mandir, and Jyoti of KV-2, Chandi Mandir, secured first ranks. Karamvir of KV-29 and Avuinash of KV-32, Chandi Mandir secured second place.

Eco-adventure cycling: The Chandigarh Adventure Club will sponsor a three-member team for 25-day. Four Countries Eco- Adventure Cycling Ride from March 15 to April 8. The cycle ride will pass through remote areas of Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos covering a total distance of approximate 2,500 km. The eco-adventure cycle challenge ride will provide an opportunity to bike through tough mountain passes and rural countryside roads in these countries. Those interested in the eco-adventure cycling ride may contact with their passport to Mr Rakesh Mohindra, Secretary, CAC, C-80, Sector 14, Chandigarh. Mobile No 98157-18182 before March 23, 2004.

Rowing championship: Gurnoor Kaur and Kirandeep Kaur stole the limelight in the Chandigarh State Open Rowing Championship held today at the Sukhna Lake. The one-day meet was organisid by the Chandigarh Rowing Association to select rowers from the city for the forthcoming Senior National Rowing Championship to be held in the city from February 28.

Results: single scull — Parveen Kumar 1, Vakinder 2, Shishan Pal 3; double scull — Parveen Kumar and Vipin1, Shammi and Vakinder 2, Pardeep and Karun 3; coxless pairs — Dalip and Sukhbir 1, Gaurav and Ravi 2, Karat and Gurpal 3; coxless fours — Jatinder,Vakinder, Karaj and Gurpal 1: Amit Malik,Vipin, Ravi and Gaurav 2; Karun, Shishan Pal,Sanjay Kumar and Kamaljit Singh 3.

Women: single scull — Saroj 1, Sukhman Kaur 2, Jandhabilin 3; double scull — Gurnoor and Gurpeet Kaur 1, Sukhman Kaur and Saroj 2, Kriti and Jandhabilin 3; coxless pairs:Kirandeep Kaur and Ramandeep Kaur1, Saroj and Sukhman Kaur 2.