Pune Municipal Corporation’s maternity-home network has only three consistently available sonography machines, leaving patients dependent on a limited number of civic facilities or private diagnostic centres for pregnancy scans, according to a report by Punekar News.
The PMC operates 20 maternity homes, but most do not have functioning sonography facilities. The machines currently available across the civic healthcare network are located at Kamala Nehru Hospital, the Pote dispensary in Padmavati, and the Sutar dispensary in Kothrud.
The machine at Pote dispensary operates under a public-private partnership model. The civic body has also said that sonography services are available at three to four other maternity homes. However, those services are not consistently operational, leaving Kamala Nehru Hospital among the main centres on which patients rely.
The shortage creates a practical burden for pregnant women who need scans during their treatment. Patients may have to travel to facilities outside their neighbourhood or pay for examinations at private centres when an operational civic facility is not available. The situation is particularly significant for women using the PMC’s maternity services, where affordability and proximity are central to access.
Expanding the network would require more than procuring additional equipment. The PMC health department has only one radiologist in a Class I post, limiting the specialist capacity available to operate and supervise sonography services across the municipal network. At some facilities, excluding those working under the public-private partnership model, PMC gynaecologists conduct the scans, according to the report.
This staffing constraint means that even where a machine is installed, the facility may not be able to provide continuous services. Equipment availability and clinical staffing therefore remain linked problems for the civic health system. A machine that is idle because a trained specialist is unavailable does not translate into reliable access for patients.
The PMC has pointed eligible pregnant women towards financial assistance available through the National Urban Health Mission. Under the scheme, eligible women can receive Rs 400 to undergo scans at private sonography centres in their neighbourhoods. The health department has urged beneficiaries to use this support where civic facilities are unavailable or services are interrupted.
The arrangement provides a short-term option for patients, but it does not remove the operational gap within the municipal network. Women may still need to identify an approved private centre, arrange travel and schedule an examination, while the assistance may not cover all associated costs. The report does not specify the number of women currently using the subsidy or whether the amount is sufficient across Pune’s private diagnostic market.
The immediate civic response is centred on using the NUHM assistance for eligible patients and continuing sonography services at the facilities where equipment and staff are available. The scale-up of municipal access will depend on the PMC’s ability to combine additional machines with radiologists or other qualified personnel capable of keeping the services operational.
