Continuing its dismal record from last year, Ranga Reddy district has registered a new low in family planning operations in the year bygone, falling much short of the targets fixed.
The number of sterilisations recorded between April 2012 and March 2013 in government as well as private institutions of the district stood at a little over 28,000, which is far less than the targeted 40,000 for the year. What’s more, the numbers have also fallen from the previous year 2011-12 which recorded 31,861 operations in all.
The figures include tubectomies and no-scalpel vasectomies conducted in designated service centres in the district, as well as double puncture laparoscopies (DPL) conducted through special camps.
Family planning operations performed in Ranga Reddy district have been on the downslide, clocking over 40 per cent decline in just six years.
During the previous year, as in any other year, majority of the surgeries were performed in private hospitals, reflecting the dismal functioning of the government service centres.
Only 2,472 tubectomy surgeries were recorded in government hospitals, while the private hospitals performed a whopping 16,547 tubectomies. The District Medical and Health Department could save its face only through the DPL camps, which clocked 8,875 operations in the year.
Poor facilities
While the figures point to absence of doctors and lack of necessary facilities in the primary health centres across the district, officials attribute the low performance to increasing dependence on tertiary health care institutions.
“Some private medical colleges are performing these surgeries free of cost, and facilities are better at these hospitals. Further, people are preferring tertiary institutions located in Hyderabad due to proximity factor and better facilities,” says District Medical and Health Officer Venkatapathi.
However, sources allege that people do not visit PHCs due to unavailability of doctors there. Many do not prefer DPL camps too due to lack of hygienic conditions.
For the first time this year, a system of grading was introduced to evaluate the performance of service centres in the district.
Reflecting the government doctors’ reluctance to work in remote locations is the low achievement recorded in clusters such as Vikarabad, Pargi, Marpally and Tandur, all of which have secured a ‘D’, the lowest grade.
