MANGALDAI, May 4 - A district level farmers� organisation of Darrang, �Krishak Sanggha� has urged the Deputy Commissioner-cum-Chairman of district level authority for registration and regulation of medical diagnostic and imaging institutions of necessary action against private medical institutions functioning in the district flouting the norms under the provision of the Assam Clinical Establishment (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 and Rules 2016.
Mozaffar Husain, the president of the Darrang Zila Krishak Sanggha in a recent petition submitted to the Deputy Commissioner has levelled serious allegations that taking the due to the lack of effective implementation of the Act (which empowers the competent authority to ensure the standards of the machine and equipment, quality of service, infrastructure facility etc., of these health centres, the management of a section of such private diagnostic and imaging centres are neglecting duty and harassing patients of the poor and semi-educated farmers� families in the name of diagnoses.
The petitioner also pointed out one specific example where the pregnant wife of a poor farmer was issued an incorrect USG report which led to a possible threat to the life of both mother and the baby, besides physical, mental and financial suffering. As mentioned in the petition, one pregnant lady namely Mursida Begum w/o Mustaz Ali, a resident of village Duliapara under Dalgaon Police Station approached a private diagnostic and imaging medical institution �Accuscan�, located at Ward No. 1 of Mangaldai for an USG examination on the basis of the advice of a gynaecologist of Mangaldai Civil Hospital.
On November 16, 2017 the authority of the imaging centre issued a report to the family of the patient against necessary payment where they mentioned the finding of the normal existence of a single foetus of twenty weeks and six days old in the womb of Mursida Begum. However, most surprisingly after less than three months i.e., on February 8 , 2018, the lady gave birth to twin sons at the Mangaldai Civil Hospital. The incorrect USG report of the said imaging centre prior to the delivery proved costly as both the mother and the new born underweight babies had to survive a very critical stage, first at Mangaldai and then at a hospital of Guwahati. The family members of the patients also suffered harassment, both mentally and physically, in the emergency shifting of all the three patients to Guwahati for better treatment as also losing out financially allegedly due to the lack of necessary preparation for the twin births, of which there had been no indication in the USG report.
Meanwhile, the Krishak Sanggha in the petition has demanded a magisterial enquiry into the efficacy of the machinery, equipment, medical and paramedical staff, quality of service, legitimacy of construction of the building of all the private diagnostic and imaging centres of the district and to initiate legal action against the erring health institutions.
Talking to this correspondent, the president of the farmers� body also explained how the poor and semi-educated patients coming to Mangaldai Civil Hospital from various remote areas of the district have to suffer financially due to the non-availability of a regular radiologist and USG service there. The USG machine which had earlier been functioning at the Regional Diagnostic Centre, near the Civil Hospital has been shifted to Sipajhar PHC while the USG machine at the Civil Hospital is also placed into service only in very limited pregnancy cases, the farmers� leader added. He appealed to the Health Minister to introduce USG service under the Chief Minister�s free diagnostic and imaging schemes for the betterment of the poor and needy patients of the district.
