Karnataka - Bangalore   

Testing time for laboratory at Victoria Hospital

— Photo: Bhagya Prakash K.

Not optimised: The Central Laboratory at Victoria Hospital in Bangalore.

Bangalore: When it opened over a year ago, the Infosys Foundation-funded Central Laboratory at Victoria Hospital brought hope to a number of patients, especially because it was purported to be open 24 hours and could provide emergency services to poor patients.

The laboratory is fully functional now and sees a bustle of activity with many patients visiting it every day for various tests. But the downside is that despite being promoted by the Government and the hospital authorities as a 24-hour facility, no tests are done in the evening and not many technicians are available after 4 p.m.

Therefore, patients, who need to be admitted for a serious condition cannot have the benefit of getting samples tested at the laboratory on an emergency basis during the night.

Moreover, an advanced and costly piece of equipment, an auto analyser, which can conduct varied tests on different samples, has been lying unused for at least six months. However, technicians say it is under repair.

“The Central Laboratory was built by the Infosys Foundation for the hospital to be run from morning through night. But the hospital has not put the facility to good use as most laboratory technicians are unavailable at night ,” said a senior doctor working at Victoria Hospital.

Another doctor said it is difficult to get test results for blood sugar and platelet count at night because technicians are unavailable. “Most often we have to send the patient outside for sample analysis during emergency situations,” he told The Hindu. When Nanjundappa, Medical Superintendent, was asked about the 24-hour laboratory, he said that a few years ago, some laboratory technicians had gone to court against night shifts. They now refuse to work at night.

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