Emergency neonatal, paediatric referrals: Parliamentary panel seeks abolition of prior consent
Medical Officers
Delhi: In its 172nd report, a Department-related Parliamentary Committee on Health and Family Welfare has recommended the immediate abolition of the prior-consent requirement for all emergency neonatal and paediatric referrals to ensure seamless and rapid medical intervention.
The committee noted that the severe shortage of specialised neonatal and paediatric care facilities at district hospitals poses a grave risk to public health, particularly for newborns and infants. The Committee observed that the current administrative protocol, which mandates acquiring a formal consent letter from a district hospital before a critical patient can be transferred to an empanelled facility, is deeply flawed and life-threatening.
“Such bureaucratic hurdles cause inexcusable delays during the critical 'golden hour' of medical emergencies, inflicting profound and unnecessary suffering on vulnerable patients and their families,” the committee stated in its report.
The Committee, therefore, recommended the immediate abolition of the prior-consent requirement alongside a targeted infrastructural drive to establish self-sufficient paediatric care units directly within all district hospitals.
The Committee also discussed the importance of neonatal screening for early detection of diseases. It observed that the Department of Health Research (DHR) clearly demonstrated that preventive interventions, such as rapid diagnostic tests for Sickle Cell Disease, universal neonatal hearing screening (Sohum), and tele-screening for diabetic retinopathy, have saved the exchequer thousands of crores while preventing irreversible disease progression. The report further mentioned that Health Technology Assessment in India (HTAIn) recommended the use of the indigenous Sohum device for universal neonatal hearing screening. The device has been deployed across 58 districts in six States and has also been exported to five countries.
The Committee, therefore, recommends the immediate integration and nationwide rollout of ICMR-validated syndromic diagnostic algorithms and point-of-care screening tools across all Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and Primary Health Centres (PHCS).
