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Discrepancy in birth records: Ludhiana sub-centre comes under scanner
According to health officials, the staff at the sub-centre registered the births of children born at a private hospital, which didn’t maintain any record of the beds; the sub-centre officials pulled up in the matter include a doctor, three staff nurses, an Asha worker and an auxiliary nurse and a midwife (ANM)
The sub-centre at Boparai village here is under scanner after discrepancies were found in the figures of birth registrations during 2018 and 2020.
The local health authorities have summoned the centre’s staff to produce birth records for 2018 and 2020, the years when the figures are reported to be manipulated.
Dr Davinder Kumar, senior medical officer, community health centre, Sudhar, has received a letter by the civil surgeon, the copy of which is accessed by the HT, asking him to make the doctor and the staff nurses from the sub-centre appear before the civil surgeon, Ludhiana, with files containing records of two children, one born in 2018 and the other born in 2020.
The sub-centre has been asked to produce the files within five days.
According to health officials, the staff at the sub-centre registered the births of children born at a private hospital, which didn’t maintain any record of the beds. The sub-centre officials pulled up in the matter include a doctor, three staff nurses, an Asha worker and an auxiliary nurse and a midwife (ANM).
An official of the local health department, pleading anonymity said, “the civil surgeon has received information that a private mother and child care centre functioning at Rajkot Tehsil has a record of children who were born at this hospital in the last few years. The registration of child taking birth at this private centre is being registered in the record of government sub-centre.”
Civil surgeon Dr Jasbir Aulakh, confirming the development, said the authorities were trying to get to the bottom of the matter.
“The birth is to be registered at the place of birth alone. By not registering the birth there, the private hospital has violated the Births and Deaths Registration Act. We will in the coming days take the necessary action against the private hospital as well after the records are assessed,” he said.
The sub-centre in question, according to health officials was under scanner for quite some time. Now with a couple of leads showing discrepancies, the issue had come to immediate attention.
