Collector Sagili Shanmohan on Saturday directed the Medical and Health Department officials to intensify surveillance on the scanning centres and illegal medical practices in the towns and villages bordering Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
The Collector was addressing a meeting on the effective implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994, (PC&PNDT Act) held here. Medical officers from Tiruvallur, Tirupattur, Vellore, and Krishnagiri from Tamil Nadu and Kolar in Karnataka attended the meeting.
The Collector said a special vigil was underway to prevent the unauthorised use of ultrasound scanning machines in the district.
The Medical Officers of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka brought to the notice of the Collector that following the prohibition of medical practice by quacks in their States, some of them had shifted their operations to the Chittoor district.
They also raised the issue of the innocent public in the border villages and towns approaching the quacks and expressed concerns over the severe health complications and risks those people could expose themselves to.
The Collector sought the medical and paramedical staff to regularly inspect the areas vulnerable to illegal use of scanning machines and abortions of female fetuses.
Mr. Shanmohan also asked the officials to focus on preventing the misuse of the drugs used in abortions.
District Immunization Officer P. Ravi Raju observed that there were as many as 49 scanning centres in Chittoor district. He said that there were strict instructions that the machines should be operated by radiologists and trained medical professionals only.
“All the existing scanning machines and any newly purchased ones should be brought to the notice of the Medical and Health Department authorities,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Collector informed the District Medical and Health Officer to arrange a meeting for the registered medical practitioners in the district to conduct awareness sessions on the PC&PNDT Act.
Published - July 15, 2023 08:05 pm IST
