A private X-ray centre in Sakchi, Jamshedpur. Picture by Animesh Sengupta

Healthcare in Jamshedpur is taking a baby step towards safety.

The East Singhbhum district administration has decided to crackdown on unscrupulous and profiteering clinics, many of which conduct banned sex determination tests for exorbitant charges and also violate infrastructure guidelines to expose patients to harmful quantum of radiation.

Civil surgeon Jagat Bhushan Prasad said that a rough estimate put the number of X-ray and radio-diagnostic clinics at more than 80 in the city and its fringes.

“We have information that most of these centres do not have adequate infrastructure or qualified doctors for that matter. Despite repeated warnings and a circular from the health department, the management of private hospitals and nursing homes as well as independent clinics have not complied with prescribed norms for radio-diagnostic centres,” Prasad said.

He added that the crackdown would be carried out in two phases from September-end. “In the first phase, private clinics would be subjected to random inspection and asked to rectify anomalies, if any. In the next phase, government-run diagnostic centres will face the drill. Those that fail to comply with the directives will be recommended for cancellation of registration.”

Elaborating on their plan, Prasad said during inspection of clinics, various parameters such as patient demography, turnout, diseases, number of technicians and doctors, quality of equipment, et al, would be kept in mind.

A senior official at the civil surgeon’s office said special attention would be paid against the practice of prenatal sex determination, conducted by many clinics clandestinely. “Case history of every woman patient will, hence, be recorded,” he said.

Another important matter that the inspection team will look into is whether technicians at these clinics abide by radiation safety norms. “We will see if a technician is sporting the X-ray exposure monitoring badge and whether the badge is being tested regularly for gauging the quantum of exposure,” the official added.