District obstetric centres see fewer deliveries

Madurai: The number of deliveries in Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care Services (CEmONC) centres in the district has come down in 2014, compared to the previous year. There are two centres - Tirumangalam and Usilampatti in the district apart from the one which functions in Government Rajaji Hospital. CEmONC centres were started in 2004 to provide round-the-clock delivery services with state-of-the-art equipment and expertise.
Statistics reveal that the two centres in rural Madurai together recorded 164 lesser deliveries in 2014, when compared to 2013. Interestingly, centres Trichy and Coimbatore districts have shown an increase in the number during the same period. In CEmONC Tirumangalam, the number was 941 in 2014, while in 2013 it registered 1,102 deliveries. Of them 557 (2014) and 556 (2013) were caesarian deliveries.
Similarly, CEmONC Usilampatti recorded 2,400 deliveries in 2013 including 1,073 caesarian while in 2014, only 2397 were conducted, including 1,194 caesarian. The details were acquired by C Anandaraj, a health activist with the support of People's Watch, a Madurai-based human rights organisation.
Madurai district joint director of medical and rural health services Dr N Rukmani said that people are prefer visiting tertiary care centres like the Government Rajaji Hospital which is not far away from Tirumangalam. However, she said that both centres in Madurai are well equipped and adequate doctors are in place.
As per norms, there should be four gynaecologists in each centre. But the present availability of doctors at various centres across the state is highly skewed. Anandaraj said that there are as many as nine gynaecologists each in CEmONC centres in Kovilpatti in Tuticorin district and Dindigul and eight in Erode, Kanchipuram, whereas, Mannargudi in Tiruvarur district and Ooty in Nilgris and Kulithalai in Karur district have only one gynaecologist each to work round-the-clock in sharp contrast. At least 16 out of the 56 centres (except medical college hospitals) in the state do not have minimum number (four) gynaecologists.