Ranked last, healthcare in Tenkasi cries for attention

TENKASI: Teenage pregnancy, low birth weight, the high maternal mortality rate (MMR) and infant mortality rate (IMR), and the spread of communicable diseases are some of the factors which dragged Tenkasi district to the last position of the State healthcare ranking, which was released recently.  "Teenage pregnancy accounts for 3-4% of the total pregnancies in the district and has led to high MMR, IMR and low birth weight of the babies.

Around 1,500 pregnant women require Ante-Natal Care (ANC) each month across the district. The district only has one cardiologist and is difficult for women to undergo several tests such as echo. As a result, many mothers from Sankarankovil, Thiruvengadam and Sivagiri taluks skip some mandatory tests," said a health official. In addition to the poor healthcare ranking, Tenkasi government hospitals in the district were ranked last at 38th position in the biometric attendance system report, three months ago.

The Chief Medical Officer of a government hospital said one of the main reasons for the increase in MMR, IMR and road accident deaths is the lack of a government medical college hospital in the district. "As the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital (TvMCH) is located on the eastern side of the city, all ambulances from Tenkasi to TvMCH have to pass through congested roads amid heavy traffic. The 60-km trip takes at least two hours. Because of this, several patients die in ambulances on their way to TvMCH," he added.

Stating that Tenkasi is nearly 10 years behind southern districts like Tirunelveli, an official said proper developmental activities were not carried out in the region when it was part of the erstwhile combined Tirunelveli district. "Even the literacy rate in Tenkasi is far behind Tirunelveli. Mothers lack health and nutritional awareness, even the basic ones such as the administration of ORS to their babies to solve diarrhoea. Due to this, quacks can be found in plenty. There should be a collective effort by the health, social welfare and revenue departments to improve the quality in the health sector here. The State government should allocate funds for the development of Primary Health Centres (PHC) and GHs. The vacancies of health institutions should be immediately filled," he said.

Speaking to TNIE, Deputy Director (Health) Murali Sankar said he was working to improve the quality of the PHCs. "The possession of National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS) certification is one of the 16 indicators based on which the districts were ranked. Only one out of 52 PHCs in Tenkasi has met the criteria. We are taking steps to get seven more PHCs this certification and also obtain Kayakalp certification to 40 PHCs. The use of the chief minister's comprehensive health insurance scheme, the number of in and outpatients were also among the ranking indicators," he added. When contacted, Joint Director (Health Services) Premalatha said the Government District Headquarters Hospital in Tenkasi managed to get a good score in many indicators. Health Secretary P Senthilkumar and Tenkasi Collector P Akash could not be reached for comments.