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Govt. lab techs say NHSL benefitting from private lab tests

30 Sep 2022

BY Buddhika Samaraweera   Although the performance of multiple biochemical tests at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL) in Colombo has either come to an end or been limited due to a shortage of reagents, top officials of the NHSL are reportedly not working to remedy this situation, as they have connections with the private laboratories around the hospital and receive various benefits from them, alleged the College of Medical Laboratory Scientists (CMLS). Speaking to The Morning, CMLS President Ravi Kumudesh said that numerous tests are either not being carried out at the NHSL or the performance of such has been limited at present as there is a lack of reagents. Under these conditions, he said, patients who visit the NHSL are being referred to private laboratories located in close vicinity to the NHSL to undergo the relevant tests. According to him, the relevant tests include alanine transaminase, aspartate aminotransferase, high-density lipoprotein, alkaline phosphatase, thyroid-stimulating hormone, bilirubin, creatinine, cholesterol, magnesium, calcium, and amylase tests, of which only a few are performed at the NHSL currently. “However, no one is trying to remedy the situation, as there are direct connections between NHSL top officials and certain laboratories. Since referring patients to private laboratories to undergo tests is done as a racket and many parties benefit from it, the relevant officials are neglecting to resume these tests at the NHSL. Even the NHSL Director is working as if he doesn’t know about this and the Health Ministry has not been informed of the lack of reagents properly,” he claimed. Speaking further, Kumudesh stated that the reason for the lack of reagents is not only the lack of money but is due to the operation of a monopoly in obtaining reagents solely from companies of their choice by certain expert officials. He charged that certain reagents that are sought to be procured for the NHSL are not even those that have been registered with the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA). “Patients have had to wait until all these activities are completed in order to undergo their tests. While there are many companies registered with the NMRA and it is possible to procure reagents from them at lesser prices, it seems that this crisis is being created deliberately by overlooking such opportunities. While more than $ 60 million from the Indian credit line remains unused and reagents that are more than four times cheaper can be sourced from India, the occurrence of a reagent shortage is part of the brand name mafia of the medical laboratory services,” he added. Attempts to contact the NHSL Director and Health Ministry Communications Director Dr. Hemantha Herath were not successful. The Morning reported early this week that given the prevailing shortage of pharmaceutical drugs and medical equipment, a number of surgeries and medical examinations carried out at the NHSL have been affected, while there is also a significant shortage of antibiotics given to patients. Sources within the hospital told that the number of computerised tomography scans, oesophago-gastro-duodenoscopy tests, cardiothoracic surgeries, and laparoscopy surgeries performed at the NHSL has greatly reduced due to the machines and equipment used developing certain technical faults.  


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