A committee to govern “unnecessary” C-section deliveries in government hospitals will be formed, Karnataka Health and Medical Education minister Dr K Sudhakar said. There has been a significant surge in the unnecessary C-section deliveries in the district and taluk government hospitals in Tumkur and the committee will monitor and prevent any such incidents further.
“C-section deliveries should generally remain within 20-40 per cent of the total deliveries. The C-section should not be recommended in cases where normal delivery is feasible. If this is being deliberately done we will take strict action to stop this. District surgeons should have a weekly meeting with all department heads every Friday to address issues in the hospitals. DC is also being directed to regularly visit the district hospital,” the Health Minister added.
Speaking at a dialysis facility in Tumkur, Sudhakar said, “Help desk will be established in every district hospital across the state. Four staff will work round the clock in this help desk in shifts to assist patients and their families. The tender process has been initiated for dialysis service and the new service provider will be finalised by December. Dialysis capacity will be increased by the present 30,000 to 60,000.”
“44 specialist doctors are the sanctioned strength for Tumkur district hospital out of which 42 specialists are already on board. So there is no shortage of doctors here. There were 250 beds earlier which has been increased to 400 in 2003. However, manpower is not panned accordingly and we will fix this soon,” he further added.
In addition to this, the hospitals have also been asked to install CCTV cameras and set up a complaint box for the public to share their feedback and grievances.
Health Minister Sudhakar handed over a cheque of Rs 10 lakh to the elder daughter of the pregnant who lost her life in Tumkur district hospital due to alleged negligence. “The amount will be kept as a fixed deposit which can be used for her future after the girl attains 18 years,” said the minister.