Chittoor: Maternity centres on the verge of closure

Chittoor: With a view to encourage institutional deliveries and to provide instant assistance for delivery cases, the government had established five Maternity Centres in Chittoor Municipal Corporation (CMC) limits long back and there had been a significant response from the pregnant women to avail services from these maternity centres. However, it is regretted that three of the maternity centres were closed in the city while two are functioning without medical officers for the past one decade. It is learnt that CMC has decided to wind up the maternity centres in its limits.

Speaking to The Hans India, K Lakshmi, a senior staff nurse who maintains Mittoor Maternity centre for the past 20 years, said that there was no doctor for the maternity centre since 2009 and even medicines are not available at the centre.

The DMHO uses to release only two types of drugs to the centre. Due to lack of medical officer, no maternity cases have been entertained. We are just referring the delivery cases to Chittoor Government Hospital.

There are no minimum facilities at the maternity centre, she said and urged the Municipal Commissioner to appoint a medical officer for the maternity centre. Vinod Kumar, Health Officer, Chittoor Municipal Corporation, admitted that Government was not releasing funds for the maintenance of the maternity centres for the past several years. The state government has taken a decision to wind up the maternity centres throughout the state in a phased manner,'' he added. Hence it is understood that the remaining two maternity centres in the city would also be closed shortly.