Over 1000 Medical Laboratory Tests including Blood and Urine Tests of Government Hospital Patients are sending to Private Laboratories daily on recommendation of doctors although those tests can be performed in Government Hospitals free of charge according to President Of Medical Laboratory Technologists Union Janaka Nishantha.
Due to this situation The relatives of the patients admitted to Government Hospitals are facing enormous difficulties as they have to hire private vehicles to go to the private laboratories for the tests he has said.
Out of the 25 Major Hospitals belongs to the Health Ministry 24 hospitals only able to perform 50 out of the 75 laboratory tests can be performed in those hospitals as doctors recommending these tests to be done through private labs Janaka Nishantha has stressed."if there's a national laboratory policy this will not happen and the patients too will be benefited from the policy " he said.
While condemning health authorities for the failure to implement the National Laboratory Policy made during 2009-2012 the President of the Government Medical Laboratory Technologists Union has said that the proposed Lab Policy included around 50 proposals made by his union for the benefit of patients. however the policy was not approved by the cabinet in 2012 due to the opposition from private sector according to reliable sources available ,he has revealed.
Now the Health Ministry Officials are planning to re make a National Laboratory Policy by undermining the previously made policy under the influence of Private Hospital Laboratory Owners he has said .he made these remarks during a press briefing held at Government Medical Laboratory Technologists Union Office in Colombo today(19)
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Around 200-300 Dengue Patients are being reported daily throughout the island at present according to the Epidemiology Unit.This month alone 2357 Dengue Patients have been reported up to now and for this year 15,184 patients and 45 deaths have been reported Epidemiologists have said.
