Gynaecologists operating TIFFA scan machines proving fatal during pregnancies

HYDERABAD: A recent judgement from the Consumer Redressal Forum (CRF) directed National Medical Council (NMC) to ensure that only radiologists and specialists use TIFFA (Targeted Imaging for Fetal Anomalies) scan machines to detect foetal anomalies. However, in Telangana, overworked gynaecologists have been forced to operate the machines, risking incorrect diagnosis, while radiologists, who are best suited to operate them, have not been recruited though notice for the same was issued a year ago.

The CRF held a senior obstetrician responsible for the failure to detect abdominal wall defects in a foetus during a target scan. As a result, the baby died soon after its birth. “In our view, any radiologist of ordinary prudence could have detected such abnormality and it could have averted the patient’s sufferings. She could have aborted the baby within 20 weeks of pregnancy,” stated the judgement.

The commission also directed NMC to formulate stringent guidelines to regulate Antenatal USG (ultrasonogram) protocols, especially TIFFA scan, which should be done by a qualified radiologist or a foetal medicine expert.

The judgement has been deemed important by members of the medical fraternity in Telangana because, across the state, gynaecologists have been carrying out TIFFA scans. In fact, several gynaecologists approached health minister T. Harish Rao impressing upon him the need to recruit radiologists to operate TIFFA scan machines.

Last March, the state’s finance department issued a GO notifying vacancies for 42 radiologists under  Telangana Vaidya Vidhana Parishad (TVVP). However, the vacancies remain unfilled, said the president of Healthcare Reforms Doctors Association (HRDA) Dr. K. Mahesh Kumar.

Dr Kumar said gynaecologists lack the expertise to detect all anomalies during scans.

“The consumer court’s judgement exposes the lacuna. If anything goes wrong, the doctor will be held liable and will have to pay compensation,” he said.