Odisha govt imposes restrictions on health camps

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Jan 18:

In a bid to infuse accountability and nullify hazardous medical facility, the Odisha government’s Health and Family Welfare Department on Saturday issued mandatory guidelines for organisations interested to hold health camps in the state in which they would have to seek permission a month in advance.

Any organisation seeking to organise camps for health check up, sterilisation procedures, cataract operation or diagnosis of diseases or any medical condition must obtain prior permission by applying in a prescribed format at least one month in advance, official sources said.

As per guidelines issued by the Health Department, the organisations/individuals/charitable trusts/civil society groups/corporate would submit applications either to the Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) or Additional District Medical Officer (Public Health) in a prescribed format.

While a committee to be formulated under CDMOs (Public Health) would review and issue approvals for health camps in rural areas, ADMO (PH) would be entrusted with the responsibility in the urban areas.

Besides, any organisation intending to hold such camps must be a registered entity as a society or trust under Company’s Act or any other Act or premier professional bodies like Indian Medical Association (IMA) or Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological and Societies of India.

After a request is received, a District Quality Assurance Committee (DQAC) would review the feasibility, infrastructure and other basic requirements in the proposed location before giving approval for conducting such camps. After a camp is organised, the organising body would have to furnish details on the camp so as to ensure accountability.

“The guidelines would streamline such camps and ensure a proper system and structure for according approval and supervision of such camps which are held with or without government funding,” Health Secretary Arti Ahuja told media.

A notification on the guidelines has been issued to the district collectors and CDMOs, health department sources said.

‘‘The state government has formulated such guideline to restructure the system of conducting such camps across the state,’’ director, NRHM Rupa Mishra said.

The government restriction comes after botched sterilisation surgeries in Chhattisgarh that left 13 women dead and medical officials using bi-cycle pumps to dilate the cervix of women at a tubectomy camp in Angul district of Odisha. Following widespread outrage after the incident, the state government had suspended the Additional District Medical Officer (ADMO) of Angul district Dr Shankarlal Agarwal and the Community Health Centre (CHC) in-charge of Banarpal Dr Deepak Garnaik.