Maha: Private lab agents deceiving patients at GMCH Nagpur to face action

According to a recent media report in Times of India, some patients require specialized tests which could not be conducted at the in-house labs of GMCH. Many agents of private diagnostic labs enter the hospital premises in the name of collecting such samples for specialized tests.

However, they mislead the poor patients by collecting their samples for the general tests which are available at the hospital. Unknowingly, many patients who come from the periphery take these agents to be employees and staffers of the hospital, and do not file any complaints against them, adds the daily.

The issue came to the light when a complaint was recently filed by a patient with Medical Superintendent, Dr Avinash Gawande. Dr Gawande stated, "Almost all-important tests can be conducted in GMCH itself. However, the private agents get entry illegally and they mislead the patients. They ask for money and collect samples from the wards. Eight such agents were caught while taking samples, and the GMCH administration has handed them over to police."

Dr Gawande cautioned the patients from falling prey to these agents, adding that all major tests could be done in the GMCH lab itself. However, if specialized tests are required, then the required sample would be collected by the GMCH health workers to be sent to specialized labs like in AIIMS, Nagpur. No fee is taken from the patients for such arrangements.

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Meanwhile, the Dean of GMCH, Dr Sudhir Gupta told TOI that such fraud agents would be banned from entering the hospital premises from now. He added, "With the help of our security guards, we have detected at least 10 such persons who represent private laboratories and roam around the casualty and other wards. They were misleading the poor and illiterate patients."

Though the agents will face action, however, it is not yet clear if the directors and owners of such private labs would be pulled up.

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