Covid testing: Easier to ‘climb a mountain’, say Patna residents

PATNA: Getting tested for Covid-19 has become an arduous task even as coronavirus cases are multiplying by the day.
While two major private labs have stopped their Covid testing services, others have made it mandatory for people to get it recommended by a doctor. At government institutions, there is a huge rush and tests are being done only after approval from doctors at those hospitals.
However, state health department secretary Lokesh Kumar said anyone who is symptomatic, or those who have come in touch with Covid-19 positive people can get their tests done at government facilities. “We are also doing random testing,” Lokesh added.
A doctor at the Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH), one of the four dedicated Covid-19 hospitals in Bihar, said, “A person is examined by a doctor from our hospital. If he is symptomatic and needs a test then the doctor will give it in writing.”
Even at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, only doctors deployed there take the call regarding Coviod-19 testing. “We do not test on recommendation of a private doctor,” said a senior doctor.
The Patna Medical College and Hospital superintendent, Dr Bimal Karak, said they have a flu corner in the hospital, where person who has to get tested waits. “He has to fill a form giving details of his address and medical history and then his samples are collected. His report is given another day,” said Dr Karak.
But people who have been to these hospitals shared their bitter experience of delays in testing as well as in getting their results.
An official working at a private firm in the state capital rushed to the NMCH on July 7 after he had difficulty in breathing and his oxygen level came down. He waited till the next day, but no one came for his sample collection.
Manoj Kumar (name changed) who went to PMCH on Monday to get himself tested said, “No one was taking samples. Some were saying staff is on strike. Climbing mountains is easier than getting tested for Covod-19 at government hospitals.”
A staff at Sen Diagnostics, a private lab, said, “We follow ICMR guidelines for testing. One has to come with prescription from a doctor recommending a test.” For RT-PCR, this lab charges Rs 2,500 and for rapid antigen it charges Rs 1,000.
Two other labs, which were given permission, have stopped this work. While at one lab, its staff have tested positive, the other had some technical issues.