LAHORE: Up to 23 laboratories were found operating without requisite facilities and qualified pathologists in raids by a team of the Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) and City District Government’s drug wing in three localities on Wednesday.

Five such laboratories and centres in Shadbagh, 10 in Samanabad and nine along Ferozepur Road were stopped from carrying out various diagnostic tests.

Legal proceedings were also initiated against Zeenat Lab and Collection Centre, Al-Ahmed Lab, Nasir Lab, Al-Zubaida Medical Lab and Bio Tech Lab (Shadbagh), Salman Chughtai Lab, UK Chughtai Laboratory, Zeenat Laboratory, Shifa Lab, UK Chugtai Collection Centre, Rahat Laboratory, Health Vision Lab, Zeenat Laboratory Collection Centre and Hadi Medical Lab (Samanabad), Model Lab and Diagnostic Centre, Life Care Lab, City Lahore Lab, Anmol Laboratory, Sheheryar Laboratory, Multi Test Lab and Meezan Lab near the General Hospital and Medics Lab near the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

These laboratories and diagnostic centres were operating without any authorisation of the PHC and had the worst clinical conditions when raids were conducted.

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2017