The West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission is considering whether it should issue an advisory asking all hospitals to hire female medical technician to perform tests like echocardiography on female patients, the chairperson of the panel said on Monday.
The thought of such an advisory came to the commission after a woman complained to it that a “male technician” had performed echocardiography on her at Fortis Hospital, said retired judge Ashim Banerjee, chairperson of the commission.
A doctor was present in the room but he was looking into the monitor where the test images were appearing.
The woman told the commission that she did not refuse to undergo the test as she needed to do it but she felt humiliated, said Banerjee.
An official of Fortis later told The Telegraph that a female attendant was present in the room when the test was done.
“The technician and the doctor were male but there was a female attendant in the room,” said the official.
Chairperson Banerjee said the commission had asked Fortis Hospital to apologise to the complainant in writing. “The woman said it was extremely humiliating for her. We felt the same. We have asked Fortis to write to the woman and apologise. This should not happen again,” Banerjee said.
“We are considering whether we should issue an advisory for all hospitals on whether only a female technician should conduct procedures like echocardiography on a woman. We will discuss it among our members,” Banerjee said.
The woman told the commission on Monday that she went to Fortis for a mammogram and echocardiography. While a female technician conducted the mammogram, a male technician conducted the echocardiography.
In the case of echocardiography, also called echocardiogram, a transducer is moved over the chest. As the transducer is moved, images keep appearing on a monitor.
The official of Fortis Hospital said that they “will take appropriate measures to address the issue”.
“We will abide by the order of the commission,” said the official.
Officials of private hospitals said there were not enough female medical technicians available for all diagnostic tests. They said that all hospitals ensure that a female attendant is present in the room if a male technician is conducting a test on a female patient.
