Withdraw GO to close small blood-testing centres, doctors’ assn urge Tamil Nadu govt
The department issued a GO (MS No. 390) setting norms on space required for operating laboratories that conduct blood tests, X-ray, and other tests and facilities
CHENNAI: The Doctors’ Association for Social Equality and Paramedical Lab Education and Welfare Association on Tuesday urged the Tamil Nadu Health Department to withdraw its move to close small-scale blood-testing centres.
The department issued a GO (MS No. 390) setting norms on space required for operating laboratories that conduct blood tests, X-ray, and other tests and facilities. According to the order, clinical, genetic, and pathological laboratories, and other such facilities in urban areas must have 500-700 square feet of space, while those in rural areas require 300 square feet.
The associations asked the government to reconsider the decision to impose the requirement, noting that it would adversely affect small laboratories and favour bigger, corporate facilities.
"There are less than 100 big-scale blood-testing centres in Tamil Nadu. Only 15-20 per cent of testing centres conduct tests like X-rays, while the remaining 80 per cent are small centres that only do basic blood tests. These small centres are the primary source of affordable blood tests, including sugar level tests, for the poor in Tamil Nadu. They offer these tests at a very low cost and are conveniently located near the communities they serve," said Dr G R Ravindranath, secretary of Doctors' Association for Social Equality.
The government order favours large corporate clinical laboratories, which could lead to the closure of more than 10,000 small blood-testing centres, he added, urging the government to immediately withdraw the order.
The associations demanded that the minimum space requirement for urban blood-testing centres should be fixed at 150 square feet, while it should be 100 square feet for the labs in rural areas.
"The most important thing is that the Union government has not announced any minimum space requirement for basic blood-testing centres. The Tamil Nadu government's order will severely impact laboratory technicians who, unable to find government jobs, have started their own small clinical blood-testing centres. This will lead to a loss of livelihood for them and their families," said a member of the Paramedical Lab Education and Welfare Association.
The associations said that the testing centres should be categorised as basic, medium, and advanced as per the Medical Laboratory Rules, 2012, and not based on the space requirements. The government's decision to treat small blood-testing centres and larger pathological and genetic testing centres equally, with the same space requirements, would only favours corporate facilities, they said.
