Childbirths in PHCs to get a leg up with smart prenatal care

  • | Friday | 9th November, 2018

Officials said that some private hospitals had been committing "mistakes" during delivery, while the government hospitals had "too much workload". An official with the district health department said that some private hospitals had been committing certain mistakes including improper intra-natal care and several still-births. "But in the PHCs, expectant mothers are given individual care and post-delivery, they can also enjoy several benefits. Trichy: The total number of deliveries at Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in Trichy district touched 548 in October, the highest this year so far. A source from the health department said that the fact that only normal deliveries are carried out in the PHCs is proving to be a setback.

Trichy: The total number of deliveries at Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in Trichy district touched 548 in October, the highest this year so far. It was 120 more than the second highest (July-428) recorded in the year so far.According to the health department, its aim is to make sure that at least one-third of the overall deliveries in the district, which averages around 3,000, should be done at the PHCs in a month. Officials said that some private hospitals had been committing "mistakes" during delivery, while the government hospitals had "too much workload". That is why they have decided to promote deliveries at PHCs.The health department has been conducting awareness drives among the general public on the benefits of opting for antenatal care and getting admitted at PHCs for delivery.Dr A Subramani, the district deputy director of health services (DDHS), said that the treatment offered at PHCs is of the highest standards and that expectant mothers would be given better care than what thy get from government and private hospitals. He said that the government hospitals, with 40 to 45 deliveries done a day, had the issue of over work-load, while the out-of-pocket expenses at private hospitals were way too high. "But in the PHCs, expectant mothers are given individual care and post-delivery, they can also enjoy several benefits. Our aim is to have 33.33% of deliveries at PHCs in six months from now. Hygiene is also top notch at all the PHCs," he told TOI. The DDHS added that babies, born at PHCs, are issued birth certificate by the time of discharge itself and a cheque of Rs 700/- is also given to the mothers.All PHCs are equipped with a minimum of two reproductive and child health nurse (RCH) and non-communicable disease (NCD) nurse and are supervised by the respective medical officers during labour. An official with the district health department said that some private hospitals had been committing certain mistakes including improper intra-natal care and several still-births. "We’re conducting an audit regarding it. Once we finish it, we would conduct awareness on how the delivery at a PHC is better compared to other hospitals," the official said.But still there seems to be a hesitation among the general public towards PHCs as people in the low socio-economic background or from the lower middle-class only opt for treatment there. A source from the health department said that the fact that only normal deliveries are carried out in the PHCs is proving to be a setback. "Cesarean is still not being done at PHCs. It’s one of the reasons why people don’t opt for PHCs yet," the source said.

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