Of around 70,000 gynaecologists/ obstetrics practising in the private sector, just 4,409 have pledged to provide voluntary service under Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) scheme, which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016.
Figures available from the PMSMA website of the Union Health Ministry shows that till December 2017, 4,409 medical professionals have registered under the scheme.
This is too low given that there are around 30,000 doctors registered with the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI), while around 4,000-5,000 doing PG who are not registered yet and maybe another 35,000-odd out of the FOGSI fold, according to the official.
As per the scheme, the obstetrics/ gynaecologists are to provide free antenatal check-ups to pregnant women on the 9th day of every month to help cut down the number of maternal and neonatal deaths in the country. The pregnant women are examined and appropriately investigated at least once during the PMSMA and then followed up.
Union Health Minister JP Nadda said that based on the clinical conditions and investigations, over 5.50 lakh pregnant women were identified as high risk pregnancies and referred to a specialist or a higher health facility for appropriate care.
Notwithstanding poor response from the private doctors, the programme has been successful in reaching out to the difficult and remote areas in the country. So far one crore checkups have been done with more than 25 lakh check-ups in high priority districts identified by the Union Health Ministry for focussed attention.
In fact, the success of the PMSMA reaching one crore mark has been possible due to the commitment from doctors in the Government sector across the country as private sector has shown dismal response to the scheme.
However, on the brighter side, many of those private doctors who have joined the scheme have gone beyond the expectations to serve in remote areas.
For instance, said Nadda, more than 385 private sector volunteers have provided services in the high priority districts such as Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh. “There are medical professionals like Dr Pooja Upadhyay, a well-known gynaecologist of Raipur who turned down the travel support offered by the Government and, instead, travelled all the way to Narayanpur, a remote left-wing affected district at her own expense to provide services under PMSMA,” Nadda said.
A Government official observed that if more private doctors come forward to join the scheme, many poor pregnant women can be saved from fatal conditions like anaemia and HIV by ensuring timely medical facilities and treatments.
With 655 doctors, Madhya Pradesh tops the list in terms of volunteers registered till December 2017, followed by Maharashtra (655), Rajasthan (579), Uttar Pradesh (505) and Karnataka at 345, as per the website. The PMSMA services like tests, investigations and counseling are being provided at 12,820 facilities across the country.
In terms of number of pregnant women (in 2nd or 3rd trimester) who received antenatal care under PMSMA till December 2017 since the launch of the scheme, again Madhya Pradesh has reported highest numbers at 74,935 followed by Andhra Pradesh (35,350), Maharashtra (34,615), Uttar Pradesh (26,027) and Bihar (25,767).