56 govt hospitals get TIFFA scan machines in Telangana

State government launched 56 Targeted Imaging For Foetal Anomalies ultrasound machines in 40 government hospitals across Telangana

Hyderabad: In yet another significant step towards improving government healthcare facilities for Mother and Child Health (MCH), in a single day, the State government launched 56 Targeted Imaging For Foetal Anomalies (TIFFA) ultrasound machines in 40 government hospitals across Telangana on Saturday.

The TIFFA ultrasound machines enable doctors to monitor the foetal growth and detect congenital anomalies at a very early stage so that a right treatment call can be taken and avoid stillbirth, which in India roughly ranges from 16 per 1,000 live births in urban areas to 28 per 1,000 live births in rural areas.

The new machines have been procured with a cost of Rs 20 crore and will provide scanning services to 20,000 pregnant women in a month. In private healthcare facilities, a single session of TIFFA scanning facility costs anywhere from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000.

Health Minister T Harish Rao, along with Home Minister Md Mahamood Ali and other senior health officials launched 56 TIFFA ultrasound machines remotely at Government Maternity Hospital, Petlaburj.

“Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has dreamed that all pregnant women from economically weaker sections have access to quality healthcare services, on par with corporate hospitals. The TIFFA ultrasound machines are aimed at providing world-class treatment facilities to pregnant women, Harish Rao said.

Compared to regular ultrasound, TIFFA scans are unique because they can detect anomalies in the fetus at a very early stage of pregnancy, i.e. by the second trimester (18 weeks to 23 weeks) of the pregnancy.

It can clearly look for defects in the internal organs of the baby such as the heart, brain, lungs, kidneys etc. The scans give an idea to doctors whether the internal organs of the baby have formed well and are functioning normally.

“It takes at least 20 minutes to complete one session of scanning with TIFFA ultrasounds. All our gynaecologists and radiologists have received training on handling these machines,” he said.

Speaking to the media, Harish Rao also highlighted the three-layered healthcare services being offered to pregnant women in government hospitals. Before delivery, pregnant women have access to three ANC checkups and have 102 Amma Vodi vehicle services that provide them with free transportation facilities to the nearest government hospital.

To ensure proper facilities are available during delivery, the delivery rooms have been upgraded, more MCH, NICU (neonatal ICU) and SNCU facilities have been added and after delivery, the mother along with the baby are provided transport back to their home on 102 Amma Vodi vehicles, KCR Kits and the financial benefit scheme.

Apart from all this, the infant is also provided with the necessary immunisation, as part of the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP).

C-Sections

Efforts by the State government to curb C-sections have started yielding results with Telangana State recording a drop of 7 per cent of C-sections in the last one year.

Last year in October, there were 61.41 per cent of C-sections (both government and private) and this October, it was 54.49 per cent.

“We have made a good start and hopefully we will bring down the percentage of C-sections further in the coming few years,” Harish Rao said.