JJ Hosp Dean cuts out pvt path labs, says all tests in-house
Booking of Cong ministers for showing swords at event: Patole says he has conveyed displeasure to Maha CM
A week after taking charge as dean of the state-run JJ Hospital, Dr Pallavi Saple has banned the entry of private pathology laboratories, putting up stickers across the campus and inside the hospital to convey the message. Dr Saple told the Free Press Journal that she has taken the step after finding out that many patients were being referred outside for diagnostic tests.
Dr Saple took charge as dean in 2019, but was later sent to Malegaon to handle the Covid-19 crisis. Last week, she joined as dean again.
Dr Saple said she learnt that many basic tests are not done at the hospital and patients are asked to approach private labs. As a result, many private partners conduct a round of hospital hunting for patients. She said, “We will make sure that none of our patients go outside for tests that are available in our hospital.”
Shweta Singh, a patient’s relative was asked to take the prescription of blood tests and give it to a person standing outside the hospital gate. She said, “In March, I had admitted my uncle to the emergency ward as he met with a bike accident. The doctor prescribed CBC, HIV and HBa1 tests and told me these can’t be done here. He asked me to go outside the hospital and show the prescription to people standing at the gate. When I asked if I will get a hard copy of the report, the person replied it will be sent to the doctor on WhatsApp.”
A senior doctor said the trend has been prevalent for years and patients admitted in the evening are asked to get their blood tests done from private laboratories. He said, as a result, some practitioners have joined hands with private labs.
The doctor said, “Many patients and their relatives are exploited and are referred to private diagnostic laboratories by the hospital staff. For most basic tests, they are forced to incur additional expenses. The dean has now pulled up the in-house laboratory.”
Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Tuesday said he had conveyed his displeasure to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray over the booking of two ministers from the party for brandishing swords at an event some days ago.
An FIR was registered last month against Congress ministers, Aslam Shaikh and Varsha Gaikwad, and the party's minority cell chief, Imran Pratapgarhi, for holding aloft swords at a function in Bandra. Patole said the presentation of swords happens often in such events across the country, adding that the Congress wanted the police's arbitrary working to be controlled. "In such cases, if police officers are taking wrong action then it is necessary for the Home minister to take strict steps against them. But that did not happen," Patole said, expressing his unhappiness with the Home department, which is controlled by the NCP's Dilip Walse-Patil.