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Ludhiana civil hospital staff suspend RT-PCR sample collection after altercation with NGO members
The Ludhiana civil hospital staff has called for a prohibition on the entry of NGO members into the hospital.
A day after an altercation with non-governmental organisation (NGO) Ek Zaria, the RT-PCR lab staff at the civil hospital went on a strike and refused to collect samples on Friday — leaving visitors in a lurch.
The hospital staff has called for a prohibition on the entry of NGO members into the hospital. Research scientist Pallavi said, “Our decision is to abstain from work and collecting samples until the ban on the entry of the NGO has been put into effect.”
An urgent meeting was also convened by the hospital administration in wake of the developments on Friday.
Visitors left left in lurch
Visitors who arrived at the civil hospital to give samples for RT-PCR tests were a harried lot in view of the strike. On an average day, the civil hospital collects approximately 50-70 RT-PCR samples.
Jagjeet Singh, a patient who came to give a sample, said, “As my flight is scheduled for Monday and I came here to get a Covid test done, it’s worrisome that no tests are being performed at this time. Because it’s the weekend, I won’t receive the test results by Monday.”
Speaking of the incident, a police official said, “We had taken a suspect into custody and brought him to the hospital for an RT-PCR test. The test results need to be presented in court, but unfortunately, the hospital is not performing any sampling at this time.”
Senior medical officer Amarjit Kaur, meanwhile, said, “The sampling process is expected to resume on Monday, and a replacement team will be assigned to ensure that the public does not experience any inconvenience.”
