Non-performing govt doctors won’t get NOC for foreign visits

The Special Task Force (STF) in Haryana has decided that non-performing government doctors in regard of sex ratio improvement in the state would not be issued no-objection certificates (NOCs) for their foreign visits. A letter in this regard will be issued by Special Secretary Health.

The STF has been constituted for taking steps to improve the sex ratio in the state. It meets weekly under Additional Chief Secretary Health Sudhir Rajpal.

The STF on Tuesday noted the data on reverse tracking of 204 medical termination of pregnancies (MTPs) in the last week with 76 in Sonepat, 63 in Jhajjar, 27 in Fatehabad and 30 in Bhiwani. Out of these, 108 were up to 12 weeks old, 82 were 13-20 weeks and 14 were between 21 and 24 weeks. While 82 were conducted at home and 60 at private centres, 50 MTPs/abortions were carried out at government health facilities.

“We are collecting details from other districts too. The aim is to identify the medical practitioners involved in such procedures and initiate strict action in cases of violations,” said Dr Virender Yadav, Director Maternal and Child Health (MCH), who is part of STF.

After analysis the MTPs, show-cause notices have been issued to 50 ‘sahelis’ in Jhajjar and six in Bhiwani. ‘Saheli’ is an ASHA worker who is linked with a pregnant woman for pregnancy monitoring. They are expected to alert health authorities in case of abortions. There were eight cases in Sirsa. The STF has decided that the detailed analysis and findings of abortions (more than 12 weeks pregnancy) in Sirsa would be submitted in the next meeting.

All BAMS clinics and nursing homes will be checked to rule out illegal MTPs by them. It was decided to check 10 clinics or nursing homes per week.

In case of IVF clinics, it was decided that orders would be issued regarding mandatory prior permission of District Appropriate Authority (DAA) in case of IVF interventions in cases of couples with one or more than one live female child. The District Appropriate Authority operates under the Deputy Commissioner.

“Also, weekly report regarding PIGT (Pre-Implantation Genetic Test) would be collected. It is a conducted to check genetic abnormalities in embryos before their implantation in IVF procedures. It could reveal the sex,” informed Dr Yadav.

It was also decided in the STF that senior officers would collaborate with ASHA and ANM workers for conducting surveys in slums or low-income areas of Faridabad, Nuh and Palwal to find out unregistered children. Further, all unregistered children will be registered on Civil Registration Portal (CRS) portal.

It was informed in the STF meeting that Haryana’s sex ratio has improved to 904 till July 7 this year, up from 903 in the corresponding period last year.