Notice served to Bengaluru Yeshwantpur Super Specialty Hospital over unauthorized fetal training.

Also Read:Karnataka: 5 private hospitals get notice for allegedly overcharging patients, asked to submit bill details

Speaking to the Indian Express, a senior health officer said that the inspecting team was initially formed to probe into cases of violations of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act.

However an official said, "Upon reaching the hospital, it was revealed that foetal medicine training was also being offered to the students in an unauthorised manner. "

Further inspection by the team revealed that the guidelines for performing scans on pregnant women in the hospital were violated by the hospital authorities.The official added, "While it is directed to upload Form F (the mandatory record related to the pregnant woman undergoing ultrasound scan with information including name, address, previous children with their sex, previous obstetric history) before each scan, it was found that the team here was uploading them together daily evening. Further, the foetus was displayed on a large TV inside the room which helps parents determine the sex of the unborn offspring, which is a major violation of the law. "

A press release from the Department of Information and Public Relations notified that the hospital holds a license for 11 scanning machines. The hospital did not provide any details online according to Form 6 before conducting the scanning, reports the Hindu. Further,the inspection revealed that the hospital was submitting the details every evening after the scan. They also illegally set up a screen inside the scanning room to display the foetus pictures.

The hospital authorities replied to the notice, stating that the Foetal Medicine Department at the facility was outsourced to ADI Foetal Care Center run by Adinarayana Makam, a foetal medicine specialist trained in the U.K.

Guruprasad B.R., director, Strategy and Business Development at SPARSH Group of Hospitals added, "Dr. Makam does foetal interventions, which include amniocentesis, foetal anomaly scans, and foetal echocardiogram. We understand they follow highly ethical medical practices and strictly follow the PCPNDT Act. The observations made by the PCPNDT committee will be looked into carefully and responded to in detail after discussing with ADI Foetal Care Center administration".

The inspection team consisted of Dr Leela (radiologist at K R Puram Government Hospital), Dr Vijay Sarathy, Dr Shilpa, DIPR (Department of Information and Public Relations) Deputy Director Pallavi Honnapura, Bengaluru North Taluk Health Officer Dr Ramesh and Vasanth Kumar of the Vision Bengaluru Trust. The team was led by Bengaluru Urban District Health Officer (DHO) Dr G A Srinivas who served a notice to the hospital following the inspection. According to a media report in The Hans India, Dr. Srinivas said, "Notice has been issued to the hospital for giving fetal medicine training to students who are not registered with the Karnataka Medical Council (KMC). "

The probe was part of a series of sting operations that the district administration had decided to conduct recently in Karnataka to inquire about illegal ultrasound sex determination tests. As part of the probe, the team had collaborated with ASHA workers and posed as pregnant women to conduct random enquiries in health centres, reports the Indian Express.