Online Lab News : Quality India : Laboratory Quality in India: Lab race towards Quality

Pathological laboratories have historically lagged behind in the race towards achieving Quality benchmarks. Not any more. Today, with the help from the Quality Councilof India, laboratories are opting for NABL accreditation.

 

By a rough estimate there are around 100,000 laboratories in the country. The number may seem big but in a country ofour size and population, it is a small percentage.These laboratories are largely in metros and major cities or towns and for those livingin rural and remote regions, a trudge to the nearest town is still a reality.

It is also known that many of these laboratoriesmay not even meet normal and expected Quality standards and many may not even have qualified lab technicians. "If the labs need due recognition then they must register with the Quality Council of India and develop minimum or essential standards. As on date, all over the country, most of the labs do not have a official recognition," opines Dr Venkatesh Thuppil, of National Referral Centre for Lead Poisoning in India, at St John Hospital, Bengaluru.

Popularly known as "Lead Man" for his pioneering work in detecting lead poisoning, Dr Thuppil is critical of the fact that the country lacks a sufficient number of super-speciality laboratories. The medical profession has progressed enormousl while the progress on the laboratory front has remained nearstatic. Dr Thuppil is of the view that "at this juncture we need more super speciality laboratory facilities in the government sector in the diagnosis and prognosis of complicated diseases".

Diagnostic and prognostic pathology investigationsare mostly conducted in good private hospitals, which at any time, are beyond the reach of ordinary citizens who are dependent on government hospitals. But it is unfortunate that even large government hospitals lack skilled technicians to carry out many of the diagnostic and prognostic tests. "I do not share this view. In my hospital I have an elaborate laboratory managed by competent and dedicated doctors and technicians who have acquitted themselves well. There are doctors conducting research here," points out Dr K K Kalra, Medical Superintendent, Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya (CNBC), the country's foremost paediatric hospital.

CNBC is an exception as Dr A K Agarwal, Dean of Mualana Azad Medical College, points out. "We cannot hide from the fact that, in general, we lack good and Quality pathology laboratories in the country," he says and adds, "it is an important aspect of the medical profession and yet very few opt for laboratory work." Dr Thuppil oncurs and emphasises that "there are not enough competent professionals and technicians to run a laboratory".

 

Read complete article :http://www.qcin.org/nbqp/qualityindia/Vol-2-No3/medicallabspage22.html