NAROWAL: The district headquarters (DHQ) hospital here has been without a pathologist for 31 years, and all pathological reports are prepared by laboratory technicians and assistants. The silence of the Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) over the matter is putting the lives of patients at risk.

Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, who has been elected to parliament from Narowal, launched the mega project of the DHQ hospital to provide the best health facilities to the local population.

The hospital has medical specialists, gynaecologists and surgeon doctors, but the post of a pathologist has been vacant for 31 years. Being the largest health department laboratory in the district, at least 2,000 to 3,000 tests are conducted here daily and their reports prepared by the lab assistants and technicians.

According to sources, the DHQ hospital administration had temporarily hired a pathologist earlier this year to fulfil the requirements of the PHC to obtain a licence. As soon as the commission’s team gave the hospital a green signal following an inspection, the pathologist was fired after just three months.

Tests being conducted by lab technicians, assistants, putting patients’ lives at risk

Patient Muhammad Majeed said the laboratory reports of the DHQ hospital lab were fake. A few months ago, he said, his brother got a hepatitis test conducted on the instructions of a doctor. The test report stated his brother’s ailment had increased to a dangerous level. But when the same test was conducted by a private lab, the report turned out negative.

Arshad Mahmood said that in order to check the authenticity of the lab reports, blood samples of one person were submitted for testing under the name of two different patients. When the reports came in, they were surprised to see that they did not match despite the sample belonging to the same person.

Meanwhile, the DHQ hospital laboratory technician claimed no one raised any objection when they prepared test reports here. But when they conducted tests at their private laboratories, the PHC conducted raids and sealed their premises for being illegal. He said if they were not qualified to perform tests at private labs, they should be stopped from the practice at the DHQ hospital too.

Narowal DHQ Hospital Assistant Medical Superintendent Dr Aitzaz Iqbal claimed they had requested the health department several times to appoint pathologists. He further said they were trying to have a permanent pathologist appointed or one on an ad hoc basis.

District Health Authority Chief Executive Officer Dr Khalid Javed said several letters had been written to the health department for the appointment of a pathologist, but to no avail. The Punjab government had posted ‘technologists’ at the DHQ hospital who issued laboratory reports, however these documents were only acceptable at government hospitals.

Locals have demanded Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and the health secretary take immediate notice of the situation.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2022