KOCHI: Even as the recent goof-up made by a private medical laboratory in Kottayam has become the hot topic of discussion on various platforms, the one question being raised by all is as to why was the patient referred for tests outside the Medical College campus? Don’t these Government Hospitals have enough facilities or pathology laboratories? They are centres of research and education. So, if they don’t have the facilities, why is the government not taking steps to set up hi-tech labs?
Health experts point fingers at an unholy nexus between the doctors and the private medical labs. “All the Government Hospitals right from the Family Health Centres (FHC) to the Medical Colleges are well equipped to carry out the required pathological tests right on the campus,” said Rajan N Khobragade, principal secretary, Health. So it would be wrong to say that the Government Hospitals are ill-equipped, he said.
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“And since all the Medical Colleges already have advanced laboratory facilities, the question of setting up independent labs does not arise,” said Khobragade. According to him, all the 170 FHCs in the state already have basic testing facilities. “There are plans to open another 100 and all these facilities are catering to a huge number of patients,” he said, adding, the one issue Government Hospitals face is the huge number of patients.
“The number of patients arriving at the Medical Colleges is humongous. So, the time taken for the tests to be carried out and the results to be published might be long. But the quality of testing is never compromised,” he said. As to why the patient was asked to go to a private medical laboratory, well, I won’t be able to comment on it, said Khobragade.
According to Dr B Ekbal, member, Kerala State Planning Board, patients might be going to private medical labs as a result of some tie-up they have with the practitioners. “It has to be investigated whether there is the culture of kickbacks in these cases,” he said. “The Medical Colleges can’t be faulted since they have been setting standards for even the private hospitals when it comes to providing treatment and other facilities,” he said.
‘Govt Medical College labs are excellent’
“Right from 1973, Kottayam Medical College has been having an incredible team of pathologists. Even today, the laboratories at the Medical Colleges are excellent since they are post-graduate departments and carry out research,” said Dr B Ekbal, member, Kerala State Planning Board, and health activist. Also, when it comes to cancer treatment and diagnosis, a protocol has to be followed, he said. “All these points need to be analysed before coming to a conclusion as to where the fault lies,” he said. He stressed on the need to implement the Clinical Establishment Act strictly. “Once, the Act is implemented, more than half of the private medical laboratories will be shut down,” he said.