The ultrasound facility at Chekkanurani PHC has been missing for over 6 months; doctors refer patients to private scanning centers

The old ultrasound machine at the Chekkanurani Primary Health Center near Madurai. | Photo credit: G. MOORTHY

While ultrasound facilities at Chekkanurani Primary Health Center in Madurai district have been closed for over six months, patients claimed to have been referred to private ultrasound facilities in places like Tiurmangalam and the city ​​of Madurai.

Learning about the need for an ultrasound facility at the PHC, a machine was installed at the hospital two years ago.

The Tuesdays and Fridays of each week dedicated to prenatal care would record the attendance of more than 200 pregnant women from across the region.

Due to the need to study fetal growth, a pregnant woman would be scanned at least five times during three trimesters of pregnancy until delivery.

Since pregnant women visiting the PHC for antenatal care are at different stages of their pregnancy, at least 30-40 women will need to study the growth of their fetus, a doctor said.

For each scan, a private scan would cost between ₹1,000 and ₹1,500. When a pregnant woman undergoes four to five tests in addition to an echocardiogram, it would easily cost ₹7,000-8,000.

The doctor, who did not wish to be named, said most pregnant women visiting the hospital did not even know that ultrasound equipment was available at the hospital.

“Doctors at the hospital especially refer pregnant women to a private imaging center located in Tirumangalam. As the scanner facility is managed by one of the relatives of the doctors working at the PHC, they are taking the opportunity to use the patients,” the doctor claimed.

A pregnant woman named Nagalakshmi, who visited the hospital for antenatal care, said she was also referred to the private imaging center by PHC doctors.

“I paid around ₹1,200 for the scan. I didn’t know that a CT scan was available at the hospital. All these days I was asked to only take scans at a private scanning center,” she added.

Another pregnant woman, reiterating the same, said she paid ₹1,500 for the scan at the centre. “We were asked to scan either at the private scanning center in Tirumangalam or any other scanning center in Madurai city,” she added.

When eligible women get assistance of around ₹18,000 through the Dr Muthulakshmi Maternity Benefit Scheme, half of the amount was spent on analysis at private analysis centres, said A. Veronica Mary , a health activist based in Madurai.

She wondered if it would take approximately more than a year to repair an ultrasound machine located at a major rural hospital.

As allegations of misuse of patients for the benefit of the doctor were being raised by the patients, senior officials at the district level should look into the matter and investigate the matter, she said.

The Chekkanurani PHC block doctor, refuting the allegations, said that as the scanning facility was not functioning for six months, patients were referred only to Government Rajaji Hospital and not to private facilities.

Contrary to the statement of the block doctor, P. Kumaragurubaran, deputy director of health services, said that to avoid difficulties faced by patients in availing GRH scanning facilities after long hours of waiting, doctors were referring , of good will, patients to nearby private scanning centers.

Further, he said as the PHC does not have trained staff to use the scanning facility, it is only used to confirm pregnancy and detect movements of the unborn baby.

Regarding the allegations that the doctors were using the patients for their personal benefit, he refuted and said that it was only for the welfare of the patients that the doctors had asked the private imaging centers to carry out the scans at a reduced price.