Outsiders take advantage as govt hospitals fail to deliver swift services

HYDERABAD:  Days after private lab technicians were caught at the government-run Gandhi General Hospital, doctors said that absence of swift services at diagnostic laboratories in government hospitals pose a threat to patients’ lives and creates fertile ground for private lab technicians to offer services.
In fact, the hospital’s administration officials said that the business of private lab technicians coming to the government hospital to collect samples and give reports, has been going for the last three years. Even if samples are sent from emergency wards to the Central Diagnostic Emergency Laboratory (at Gandhi Hospital), it takes more than 12 hours to give results. 

“When a patient is in emergency ward, the pace at which decisions are taken should be quick as it is a matter of life or death. Some tests are not performed at the lab. When asked for alternatives, patients are informed that they can opt for private laboratories,” a doctor said. Junior doctors said that to take up any surgery, a few mandatory tests such as Complete Blood Profile (CBP) have to be performed.

 “Only one lab technician is allotted for the entire Central Diagnostic Laboratory, while at least four are needed. Around 600 samples are received in a day. Besides, data entry operators are needed too. They take samples, enter patient’s details and give barcode to samples. All these jobs are either done by the only lab technician or PGs,” a junior doctor said.