Sonography centre papers still not in order, genetic tests a concern: Panel

MUMBAI: Details of ultrasound scans conducted on pregnant women are still not being properly documented as required under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994, said officials of an inspection squad which checked two hospitals and a laboratory in south Mumbai last week.

A Parel laboratory’s ultrasound machine has been sealed, while Bombay Hospital in New Marine Lines and Nair Hospital in Mumbai Central were ticked off for poor paperwork, said advocate Varsha Deshpande of the National Inspection & Monitoring Committee, set up by the Union health ministry.

The team found that Form F was incomplete and in some cases, unsigned, leading to the machine’s seizure. “In Bombay Hospital and Nair Hospital, the team found minor mistakes with the paperwork. Hence, the ultrasound machines were not sealed,” said BMC executive health officer Dr Padmaja Keskar.

The team, comprising Deshpande and Dr Vandana Walvekar, former dean of Wadia Hospital, visited Mumbai and Pune on March 12 and 13. It found that the advisory committee to monitor the PCPNDT Act has not met in four years. “We highlighted the fact that genetic counselling labs and centers and infertility centers are not registered under the PCPNDT Act,” said Deshpande. “We have to become more vigilant because ultrasound scans are being replaced by genetic tests that can determine the unborn child’s gender.” tnn