Private hospitals ready to house HIV testing centres

[Guest guest]

Private hospitals ready to house HIV testing centres

Jinal Shah

Mumbai: More than 10 private hospitals in the city have come forward

to participate in a Government scheme of Integrated Counselling and

Testing Centres (ICTC) for HIV testing at private medical

institutions. This will act as a boon to those who wish to get

checked in private hospitals with the same reliability as in public

hospitals and with full anonymity.

The ICTCs provide free HIV testing facilities and counselling for the

HIV infected. Hospitals like Safiee hospital in Churni Road and other

small maternity homes and hospitals in Malad, Goregaon, Mulund and

Mahim have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Mumbai

District Aids Control Society (MDACS), apart from five Family Health

International's Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) clinics and two

Population Service International clinics.

The MDACS had invited proposals from private hospitals, clinics,

maternity homes and even private laboratories to start ICTC centres

on their premises like other district societies in the country under

the National Aids Control Organisation (NACO). " The idea is to

practise uniform testing methods across the medical institutions,

both public and private. This will not stop private clients to opt

for a more expensive test — the PCR test that costs approximately Rs

2,000, " said Dr Ruchi Chiplunkar, the joint director of Mumbai

District Aids Control Society (MDACS).

" The NACO will provide free rapid test kits for the ICTCs coming up

at private hospitals and will also provide necessary training to

their technicians and counsellors, " said Dr Chiplunkar. " NACO is not

looking at private hospitals now, especially big hospitals; in fact

it has set criteria like those maternity homes conducting more than

50 deliveries, only those hospitals or clinics treating more than 100

tuberculosis patients a month or 100 patients with sexually-

transmitted diseases a month. Also those laboratories performing more

than 150 HIV tests a month. The middle and upper middle class

population is our target. "

The NACO decided to open ICTC centres at maternity homes and

hospitals where deliveries are conducted as nearly 35 per cent of

mothers delivering in the state approach private hospital for

healthcare. This is to curb the mother-to-child transmission. " At

present, there is no data on the general masses opting for HIV

testing in private hospitals in Mumbai, " she said.

Dr Chiplunkar, however, said they have asked NACO on the insistence

of the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Socities of India

(FOGSI) to relax the criteria as many maternity homes with less than

30 deliveries a month have expressed their interest to start ICTC

centres.

With the opening of ICTCs, the private hospitals will be able to

provide reliable HIV testing facilities to people. " At present,

manyof these hospitals are providing only one test for HIV. This may

not be reliable as it may give false results. The ICTCs always follow

the standard three-test procedure and that is a reliable method, " she

said.

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