Alarmed at the mushroom growth of unauthorized pathology centres that are putting at risk the lives of innocent citizens, the Health Department has ordered the closure of all pathology collection centres that are running without a licence and qualified pathologists.
Despite many reports of wrong diagnoses, especially those of blood and urine, neither the state health department nor the police department had taken any action against such sham pathologies that are putting the lives of thousands of citizens at risk. Taking a serious note of the situation the Health Department has instructed all Chief Medical Officers and concerned officials to order the closure of all unauthorized pathology centers with immediate effect.
On March 15, a woman during a routine visit to the doctor was advised to have her blood checked for malaria. While one pathology gave a report of malaria positive another certified that it was negative and a ‘not seen’ report was given. A third diagnoses showed that there were no malaria parasites in her blood. luckily she hadn’t started the treatment for malaria or else the side effects of the excessive medicines would have been risky.
When the woman’s relatives, convinced that the pathology center had misguided them with an incorrect report approached the pathology they were chased away without any explanation, let alone an apology.
According to sources more than 50 per cent of the pathology centers in the city are illegal, running without a license or qualified lab technicians. It is learnt that not only the doctors but the established and licensed pathologies too rue the mushrooming of such illegal pathologies, that apart from putting the lives of innocent patients at risk, also give a bad name to this field.