Published On : Fri, Jul 21st, 2017

Daga hospital fails to establish Pregnancy Water Testing Centre, even after granted funds

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Nagpur:
Even after being provided with the fund and a notice from the Health Department, Daga hospital has failed to open Pregnancy Water testing centre for the couples affected with sickle cell disease. It is the people in need of the testing centre who are being affected by negligence of hospital administration and the state government. What is more astonishing is the fact that Maharashtra, the second most populous state of the country, does not possess a single Pregnancy Water Testing Centre run by the state government.

According to the information received, in the first phase, State Government was granted a sum of sixty lakh rupees by the Central Government on 11th February, 2015 to establish a Pregnancy Water testing centre in Women infirmary of Daga Hospital. Nonetheless, even after a couple of years, no action has been taken in the direction. The entire cost, expected for the same is seventy five lakh rupees, out of which, sixty lakh had already been granted by the centre two years back. The hospital was given an amount of eleven lakh sixty nine thousand rupees to purchase small instruments required for the lab. However, it was decided that purchase of rest of the amount will be made on the state level, which has failed to happen till now.

“The state is not having any system for this testing. When a state starts plans for Sickle Cells, they must have a Pregnancy Water Testing Centre which is not so in the state”, said Sampat Ramteke, Chairman, Sickle Cell Society of India. “The testing was, earlier, done in the Medical Hospital till 2012. However, that has not been in functional state for five years now which has multiplied the problems. Several letters have been written to the State Government, but no action has been taken”, he added.

When approached by Nagpur Today to comment on the matter, Seema Parwe, Dean, Daga Hospital was found giving vague answers. “I am on leave right now and do not have any such information. We are not establishing any such centre. As far as testing is considered, Mayo hospital has a testing centre”, she said.

Pregnancy water testing is an important test for the parents affected by the disease as it helps to detect whether the child is affected by the same or not. According to information received by the RTI, 325 cases of sickle cell couples were reported in Daga hospital, out of which, testing could not be done for 200 couples.

By Shamanand Tayde