Not registered with paramedical council, MD pathologists being served closure notices

Nagpur: Dr Pankaj Saklinwar is MD in pathology and runs a diagnostic laboratory in Gadchiroli. On July 5, he received a notice from the tehsildar saying legal action will be initiated against his lab if he fails to provide his registration with the Maharashtra Paramedical Council (MPC).
Dr Saklinwar was shocked to see the notice as he is more qualified than a paramedic and already registered with the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC).
“I’ve been running my lab since 5 years. This notice has come as a shocker. My qualification is MBBS and MD. I have an MMC registration number. Legally, I’m allowed to run a diagnostic laboratory. How can a doctor who is registered with the MMC produce registration from the paramedical council?” wondered Dr Saklinwar.
Dr Sandeep Yadav, president, Maharashtra Association of Practicing Pathologists and Microbiologists (MAPPM), termed the notice ‘bizzare’. He said the association will protest against such steps. “The MPC is for lab technicians, but Dr Saklinwar is our member as he is a qualified pathologist. This is like serving a closure notice to a hospital because doctors don’t have registration of the nursing council,” he said.
Such notices are being served to some MAPPM members in Maharashtra, either due to lack of awareness of the laws or with the intention to harass qualified pathologists.
“One such notice was served in June. Doctors had submitted their MMC registration documents in return. Government babus sending similar notices is not acceptable,” said Dr Yadav.
The association has claimed that only MD pathology doctors are authorized to run a pathology laboratory in Maharashtra as per the Supreme Court order (2017). Diploma and certificate holder pathologists are considered technicians and they can work in lab but can’t sign reports. Many labs in Vidarbha are run by non-qualified technicians. The tate should take action against them.
“Instead of taking action against unauthorized labs, the state government and district administration are serving notices to qualified doctors which is unfortunate,” added Dr Yadav.
No official from Gadchiroli district administration was available for comment.