Very soon, the State Government will launch a scheme where for the issue of birth certificates, mother’s medical records related to pregnancy will be mandatory. The government has had a soft launch for the scheme and is testing the software for the purpose.
At the time of issue of birth records, the child’s family will have to furnish a RCH (Reproductive and Child Health) identity number, which the private or government hospitals will use to send the records to the local body concerned for issue of birth certificates.
Without the RCH identity number no birth certificate will be issued, say sources in the Coimbatore Corporation.
The number is generated when pregnant women go to private or government hospitals for their first consultation. In case of government hospitals, the authorities will get in touch with the government health nurse of the primary or urban health centre who caters to the area from where the pregnant is from. Private hospital administration should also get in touch with the urban or rural health nurse concerned for the purpose.
The sources say that in case of delivery at a place other than their home town, the pregnant women will have to furnish the RCH identity number that they had obtained in the home town. Since the entire system is computerised, upon entry of the identity number, the entire details of the pregnant women will be made available to the hospital concerned, they add.
The private or government hospitals will then have to furnish this number to the local body concerned for generation of the birth certificate, the sources say and add that the government has named it the civil registration system.
As for generation of RCH identity number for women from other states and women in migrant families, the government is working a solution, they add.
This civil registration system will ensure avoidance of error, duplication in birth certificates or furnishing of fraudulent details for obtaining a fake certificate.
The Coimbatore Corporation has held a meeting with sector health nurses from private hospitals on Saturday and is planning to hold a series of meetings at the zonal level before the official launch by the government in February.
