Surat : Scarcity of Sonography machine causes long wait times for expecting mothers

Surat: Expecting mothers from the lower-middle-class and Below Poverty Line (BPL) families in Surat, Gujarat, are grappling with excruciating challenges as they navigate long, winding queues at the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC)-run SMIMER hospital and the New Civil Hospital (NCH) for essential sonography tests. This plight has intensified due to the non-functionality of approximately 11 sonography machines across 10 maternity homes and 7 community health centers (CHCs) affiliated with the Surat Municipal Corporation, persisting for the last two months.

The distressing ordeal for these mothers involves enduring lengthy queues, sometimes standing for hours, which often leads them to forgo basic bodily needs, including the agonizing task of withholding urine during the prolonged waits at SMIMER and New Civil Hospital.

Recent revelations during the question hour in the SMC board meeting cast a somber light on the situation. Startling statistics were unveiled, indicating that within the past two years, 26 pregnant mothers tragically lost their lives during childbirth at SMIMER hospital, an institution overseen by the SMC. Despite appeals for urgent remedial actions, the circumstances have yet to witness a significant shift.

At the CHC centers, gynecologists have been tasked with screening expecting mothers, a responsibility typically held by radiologists. Subsequently, patients are then referred to SMIMER hospital for further examinations, adding strain to an already burdened system.

Rachna Heerpara, a member of the hospital committee at the Surat Municipal Corporation, highlighted the escalating crisis, citing a threefold surge in patients requiring sonography tests, amounting to a staggering 300 patients per day for examinations on only five machines at SMIMER hospital.

Similar circumstances prevail at the New Civil Hospital. Doctors at SMIMER hospital divulged that they are performing approximately 450 sonographies daily, surpassing the intended limit of 250.

According to Rachana Heerpara, a member of the SMC hospital committee, “Things are going in the reverse direction in Surat, but we talk about Suposhan and beti bacho.” The long queues for sonography tests are pitiful, especially for a city of this size.

Official sources within the Surat Municipal Corporation confirmed that the 11 non-functional sonography machines are beyond repair, prompting the initiation of the decommissioning process. However, a decision concerning the procurement of new sonography machines remains pending within the SMC, still under consideration without a definitive timeline.

This protracted delay in resolving the dire shortage of functional sonography machines continues to cast a shadow over the welfare of expectant mothers in Surat, underscoring an urgent need for prompt intervention to alleviate their harrowing predicament.