Use of bicycle pump in tubectomy in Odisha: OMSA backs CDMO

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Angul, Dec 5:

The Angul branch of Odisha Medical Services Association (OMSA) has lent its full support to Angul Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) Dr Bidyadhar Sahu, who is in the dock over a much-talked-about incident involving the use of a bicycle pump in a sterilisation camp in Banarpal  on November 28.

At an emergency meeting here on Thursday afternoon, OMSA office-bearers strongly condemned the heckling of the CDMO by a group of women Congress workers in the presence of the district collector and sub collector inside the office of the additional collector on December 1 and demanded strong action against the Congress women.

Justifying its contention, the Association said though a laparoscopic machine and insufflators were provided to the Banarpal Community Health Centre (CHC) for tubectomy, Dr MP Rout had not used these machines since he was not familiar with them.

“How can the CDMO be taken to task if Dr Rout did not know the use of these equipment, the Association asked in a press release issued on Tthursday after Thursday’s meeting. Incidentally, Dr Sahoo is the president of OMSA’s Angul branch.

However, the release by the Association has raised a number of questions about the modus operandi of the Health and Family Welfare department.

In the first place, who has blamed the CDMO? How did the Health department taksed Dr Rout with conducting tubectomy, when he was not used to handle the equipment he was provided? Why did the department not assign the job to the doctors in other districts, who know how to use these equipment? If the department was aware that there is no doctor in the district who can use these equipment, then in whose interest were these machines bought at a price of Rs 8.30 lakh? What was the reason behind keeping these equipment in the CHC when the doctor was ignorant of their use? Had the Additional District Medical Officer (ADMO), Family Planning supervised the tubectomy camp at the CHC? Had he taken stock of the arrangements made in the camp?

However, there are conflicting statements coming out of various sections over the incident.

As per the statement of Dr Dilip Kumar Das, in-charge of Khamar CHC, the insufflator taken from Khamar CHC to Banarpal CHC, has been returned after its use while the OMSA has stated that the Dr MP Rout, in-charge of Banarpal CHC, was unable to use the equipment.

Reliable sources said that after the incident, that department is now targeting the low ranked employees who could have leaked the information about the existence of the insuffaltor and is planning to put them under suspension after issuing show cause notices to them.