*Pregnant women bound to go outside UT for diagnosis
Govind Sharma
JAMMU, June 1: The first ever Genetic Clinic of Jammu and Kashmir in Shri Maharaja Gulab Singh (SMGS) Hospital is lying non-functional for last over two years due to the apathy of the concerned officers in Health & Medical Education Department.
Official sources told Excelsior that with the personal efforts of the then Principal Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu Dr Sunanda Raina, the first Genetic Clinic in J&K was established in Government SMGS Hospital, Jammu under the supervision of Department of Radio-diagnosis in October 2019 following inspection of the facility by an expert committee on the recommendations of which District Appropriate Authority, PC&PNDT Act, Jammu issued Registration Certificate for the Clinic for a term of three years (from 12-10-2019 to 11-10-2022).
They said the clinic was established to cater to the needs of the patients not only from Jammu region but also from Kashmir province as in whole North India there are only few such specialized Genetic Clinics. Throwing light on the importance of the Genetic Clinic, sources said various diagnostic and interventional procedures in Fetal Medicine like amniocentesis, chorionic villi-biopsy, inter uterine blood transfusion, cordocentesis, fetal skin and organ biopsy etc were done in this Genetic Clinic for which the patients had to go outside J&K earlier.
“Many genetic disorders and syndromes can be diagnosed in early pregnancy in the Genetic Clinic and thus, appropriate remedial measures can be taken, besides counseling the parents,” sources claimed, adding, with the opening of such a clinic in SMGS Hospital, all these diagnostic and interventional procedures were being done in Jammu itself and the patients including pregnant women had no need to go outside the J&K.
However, sources said, this specialized Genetic Clinic became non-functional in January 2020 (after only 2 months of its opening) when Consultant Radiologist Dr Arshad Bhat (trained person in Fetal Echo-Cardiography and Fetal Medicine) who was looking after it, was transferred by the Health & Medical Education Department and posted at newly established Government Medical College Doda.
Accusing the then officers at the helm of affairs in Health & Medical Education Department for rendering the Genetic Clinic non-functional just after 2 months of its opening, sources said they were very well aware of the importance of this Genetic Clinic and could post any Radiologist to GMC Doda but they preferred Dr Arshad, who was the only competent person with required qualification and training to run this specialized Clinic.
Hearing a writ petition in this connection recently, Division Bench of the High Court comprising Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Rahul Bharti directed Commissioner/Secretary Health to file affidavit regarding non-functioning of this Genetic Clinic. The Bench said, “Response has been filed by the Director Health Services, Jammu but reply from the Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Health Department is necessary in the matter with a view to deal comprehensively with the issues”.
Pertinently, Director Health Services Jammu in his response filed to the DB had said that the Genetic Clinic established in the SMGS Hospital Jammu is lying closed/non-functional on account of the fact that the concerned doctor Arshad Bhat, who was incharge of the centre has since been transferred.
Sources said recently the concerned Radiologist (Dr Arshad Bhat) was again transferred and posted back to GMC Jammu but instead of giving him the charge of the Genetic Clinic (which otherwise was non-functional due to his transfer to GMC Doda), HoD Radiologist GMC Jammu Dr Kulbhushan Gupta posted him in SMGS Hospital for performing routine services in Outdoor as well as Indoor Section of the Radiology Department, while giving reasons that the Genetic Clinic does not exist.
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