Medical technologist alleges CMO Pulwama’s inaction over illegal sample collection centre

PULWAMA — A professional medical laboratory technologist, Ali Mohammad Ganie, has accused health authorities in Pulwama of failing to act against an illegal blood sample collection centre, despite his repeated complaints.

Ali Mohammad, who is a Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology (DMLT) holder and runs his own sample collection center in the district, alleges that the negligence poses a serious threat to public health.

In a formal complaint addressed to the Director of Health Services Kashmir, Ali Mohammad calls the collection centre as “unauthorized and illegal”. He identified the collection centre to be operating under the name of Qadris Clinical Laboratory in Buchoo Tral.

He claims the centre, run by Mohammad Younis Rather, has been functioning for over a month without proper registration from the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Pulwama, thereby flouting all established regulations.

“I have been forced to approach the media to highlight this grave issue given the fact that the collection centre is run by a person who has no required degree or diploma to operate the centre,” Ali Mohammad told this reporter, revealing that his appeals to the CMO’s office have gone unanswered.

Pertinently, Ali Mohammad’s complaint carries additional weight, being a member of the Kashmir Private Diagnostic Centres Association J&K. He says he is not just pointing to a public health concern but also to an issue of unfair and unregulated business practices within the diagnostic sector.

He rues, “If any person without a degree or diploma starts to run labs for sample collection, it would mean that the degrees or diplomas are useless. It has already happened to many other professions in our society.”

In the formal complaint, the medical laboratory technologist has stated that the “illegal and unauthorized operation” could have “serious repercussions on the local population” and lead to “an irreparable loss which cannot be compensated later on.”

He further alleged that hanging someone else’s degree or diploma certificate on the wall in order to hoodwink common people is an old trick, but the concerned department should act, as more such cases would be prevalent if proper checking of the diagnostic centres takes place.

Ali Mohammad is demanding an immediate intervention from the higher authorities as he has already approached the Director of Health Services Kashmir and a thorough probe into the operation of all diagnostic centres in the Valley, pointing out that strict action is necessary to uphold public safety and the principle of justice.

It is in place to mention here that running a sample collection centre requires at least a bachelor’s degree or diploma in medical lab technology.