Medical Council have taken action against path labs for irregularities: Delhi Govt informs HC

New Delhi: The Delhi government has informed the Delhi High Court that it is regulating pathological laboratories in the city and its medical council has taken action against some of them for irregularities and professional misconduct.

The city government stated that the Delhi Health Bill is under "active consideration", and currently, all path labs are being governed as per public notices issued in accordance with the Clinical Establishment Rules, 2018.

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In an affidavit filed in response to a PIL alleging that unauthorised laboratories and diagnostic centres were being managed by unqualified technicians, the city government clarified that under the present framework, all path labs are classified into basic composite, medium and advanced categories and a minimum qualification has been prescribed for signing any report.

It added that an online public grievance monitoring system has also been set up for filing complaints against these diagnostic centres.

The city government stated that as per the Delhi Medical Council, while there was "no specific complaint alleging violations of the directions issued vide public notices", action was taken by the council on its own or on the basis of information received by it with respect to irregularities by some path labs.

In the affidavit, the Delhi government disclosed five instances when action, including suspension from the state medical register, was taken by the Delhi Medical Council against negligence, professional misconduct and association with unqualified medical practitioners.

In November, the high court had directed the Delhi government to file an affidavit on how pathological laboratories in the city were being regulated and asked it to state if any action had been taken against those running in violation of the framework.

The counsel for the government had told the court that path labs were being regulated under the Clinical Establishments Rules, 2018, and under the present regime, all medical reports have to be signed by a registered medical practitioner having post-graduate education.

The lawyer had stated that the Delhi government was following, in letter and spirit, a Supreme Court order mandating signing of medical reports only by qualified professionals.

Lawyer Shashank Deo Sudhi, appearing for petitioner Bejon Misra, had argued that pathological labs in the city were unregulated and posed a threat to the lives of citizens.

He had claimed that on account of "wrong reports" from the labs signed by "unqualified technicians", the public was unable to secure proper treatment.

The lawyer had prayed that a robust health policy be framed by the authorities to govern path labs and stern action taken against those which were running in violation of ICMR and WHO guidelines.

The high court had, in September 2018, said the presence of unauthorised pathological laboratories and clinics in the national capital was a ''serious issue''.

It had then directed the Delhi government to inspect the laboratories and clinics, find out who were running those and under which law were those set up.

Misra, in his plea, said, ''Such illegal labs continue to mushroom in and around Delhi-NCT, and it can be easily estimated that the total number of such illegal pathological and diagnostic labs can be anywhere between 20,000 and 25,000, and every street in the capital has such illegal pathological labs.'' ''The National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) certification under the Quality Council of India (QCI) is optional and not mandatory before opening of a pathological or diagnostic lab in Delhi,'' the petition added.

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