Lab assessment: QCI directed to consider TN plea

A division bench comprising Justices S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad on recording the letter written in this regard by the Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, posted the case for further hearing to June 17.

In his letter, the government official had contended that since there are only five PhD qualified persons available in this department and if these persons alone were deputed for QCI’s training programme, it would not be feasible for them to assess all clinical laboratories within the State.

“It is therefore proposed to depute the persons who have completed MD in Pathology/Microbiology/Biochemistry with an experience of minimum 5 years for the training programme, so that they become assessors for the certification of laboratories, subject to acceptance by the QCI, New Delhi,” the letter said. The training is aimed at sensitising the medical laboratories performing routine basic testing to obtain at least the entry level quality assurance offered by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).