HYDERABAD: Pregnant women who flock to the out-patient registration counter of the Modern Government Maternity Hospital at Petlaburj are in for rude shock as the antenatal OP registration counter gets closed by 10.30 am, which is at least one hour earlier than before. With this, pregnant women who travel long distances from other districts or states to undergo medical check-up at the hospital, are forced to go back disappointed.
However, hospital superintendent Dr S Nagamani asserted that the antenatal registration was never open till 11.30 am. But, if sources are to be believed, the OP registration window used to be open from 8.30 am to 11.30 am.“Pregnant women and their attendants who come from far-off districts and neighbouring states such as Karnataka and Chhattisgarh after 10.30 am have no other option than go back. Most of the patients who come to the maternity hospital are poor. Imagine the kind of difficulties they have to face travelling in buses from their native places to reach here only to know that they were ‘late’ to register. Earlier, the old and new cases registrations at Antenatal OP were open till 11.30 am,” the sources said.
On Wednesday,a woman who went to the hospital from LB Nagar at around 10.50 am. was informed by the staff that the registration counter was closed. “I was told that the counter closes at 10.30 am,” said the woman who did not want to be named. There are four OP counters in the hospital: 1) Antenatal 2) Family Planning 3) Gynaecology 4) Child Care. Only the Antenatal OP is located on the ground floor and the remaining three are on the first floor and registration is open till 12 noon at the three sections. However, there are no boards displaying the timings or location of the different OPs.
When asked, Superintendent Dr Nagamani said, “The counter was never open till 11.30 am. Our doctors check all patients till 1 or 2 pm. If the registration timing is to be extended by one more hour, they will need more Class-IV employees, nurses and doctors to attend the additional number of patients.”
FACT CHECK
Pregnant women with health issues such as high BP and pregnancy complications visit the Antenatal section for check-up.
Antenatal out-patient registration timings reduced by one hour, from 11.30 am to 10.30 am at Maternity Hospital in Petlaburj.
If pregnant women reach the hospital after 10.30 am for OP consultation, they are told that registrations are closed.
Hospital superintendent Dr Nagamani says registrations were never open till 11.30 am.