T Shiva Raj
Campbell Bay, 04 July 2025
Despite latest upgrades on the Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Campbell Bay, Great Nicobar, residents proceed to face severe challenges in accessing important diagnostic providers as a result of absence of a certified medical skilled authorised to carry out ultrasound sonography.
The set up of a state-of-the-art ultrasound machine at PHC Campbell Bay had initially introduced a wave of optimism among the many residents. However, their aid was short-lived as they quickly found that the machine stays largely unused. The cause: there is no such thing as a skilled and authorised physician stationed on the PHC who meets the authorized {and professional} necessities to conduct ultrasound examinations.
Sources knowledgeable Nicobar Times that the Directorate of Health Services had scheduled month-to-month visits of a certified and authorised physician from Car Nicobar to Campbell Bay. However, these visits haven’t been happening persistently, and in some instances, have been skipped for a number of consecutive months.
Ultrasound sonography (USG) is a vital diagnostic software, significantly throughout being pregnant. It is a protected, non-invasive, and dependable technique for monitoring the well being and improvement of each the mom and the fetus. Due to the shortage of an authorised physician at Campbell Bay, even expectant moms are compelled to journey to Sri Vijaya Puram for routine USG scans — a journey that’s each logistically difficult and financially burdensome.
The prices concerned in such journey are vital. A one-way helicopter fare from Campbell Bay to Sri Vijaya Puram prices ₹5,350 for islanders, whereas a 1st Class ship ticket is priced at ₹2,740. Additionally, sufferers bear the bills of meals, lodging, native transportation, and different miscellaneous prices — all for a service that might simply be offered domestically if a skilled physician had been accessible.
The core situation lies within the necessities set forth underneath the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994, which was enacted to forestall sex-selective practices and to manage prenatal diagnostic procedures. According to the Act and its related guidelines, solely sure classes of medical professionals — akin to gynaecologists, sonologists, imaging specialists, or registered medical practitioners with a postgraduate diploma, diploma, or six-month prescribed coaching in — are permitted to conduct USG.
Although PHC Campbell Bay is staffed with certified MBBS docs, none at the moment possess the postgraduate specialisation or the mandated six-month coaching underneath the PCPNDT (Prohibition of Sex Selection) (Six Months Training) Rules, 2014. As a consequence, none of them are legally eligible to carry out ultrasound procedures.
A practical and sustainable answer can be to facilitate the six-month PCPNDT-prescribed coaching for no less than one physician stationed at PHC Campbell Bay. This would empower the native well being infrastructure to ship vital diagnostic providers and considerably ease the burden on the native inhabitants.
Residents are calling upon the Health Department to take pressing motion by investing within the upskilling of medical personnel posted in distant areas. Ensuring that no less than one physician in every such facility is skilled and registered underneath the PCPNDT Act won’t solely enhance healthcare entry but additionally strengthen public belief within the system.
Until then, the ultrasound machine at Campbell Bay stays an unused asset — an emblem of hope deferred for the island’s residents.
