Odisha govt orders probe into use of cycle pumps for tubectomy

Angul (Odisha): Close on the heels of the Chhattisgarh sterilisation episode, use of cycle pumps to dilate the cervix of women during tubectomy procedures at a camp in Odisha’s Angul district has come to the fore. [caption id=“attachment_1828831” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image.[/caption] Taking serious note of the matter, the Odisha state government has ordered an administrative probe into the reported incident of Friday at a camp organised by the health and family welfare department at Banparpal, officials said. “The district collector of Angul has been asked to conduct an inquiry to ascertain what exactly had happened and under what circumstances,” state Health secretary Aarti Ahuja told PTI on Sunday, adding the collector has been asked to submit a report within 2-3 days. The incident came to light barely a fortnight after the death of several women following botched sterilisation surgeries at a government camp in Chhattisgarh. However, medical authorities in Angul and the surgeon on duty at the government-run Banarpal community health centre have defended the procedure as “routine” in such operations in most government health facilities in the state. Mahesh Rout, who operated on the women, claimed that cycle pumps are routinely used in several parts of the state in the absence of costly medical equipment. Adequate safeguards are followed while using cycle pumps and the nozzle tips are properly sterilised before conducting the procedures, he said. PTI