E-Paper
Private Covid testing labs in Pune to undergo audit
PUNE Given the higher rate of positive Covid cases recorded from the private pathology labs as compared to the government labs, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has ordered an audit of the functioning of the private labs and whether or not they are following the standard operating procedures
PUNE Given the higher rate of positive Covid cases recorded from the private pathology labs as compared to the government labs, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has ordered an audit of the functioning of the private labs and whether or not they are following the standard operating procedures. The civic body will constitute a committee for the same and the audit process will begin from Monday (March 29).
The decision was taken in the Covid review meeting headed by Pune guardian minister Ajit Pawar at Council Hall, on Friday.
“The number of positive cases from private labs is high. We need to look into the issue,” said Pawar.
A PMC health official on condition of anonymity said that private labs have been reporting 10-20 per cent more Covid positive cases than the government labs.
PMC has initiated the process to form a committee of the representatives from government testing labs such as Sassoon, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), National AIDS Research Institute (NARI) and National Institute of Virology (NIV) who will audit the functioning of the private labs and whether or not they are following the standard operating procedures.
“There are 24 private laboratories in Pune which are conducting Covid testing. The positivity rate is high in private labs. That’s why audit will be conducted,” said Dr Sanjeev Vavre, assistant health officer, PMC.
The members of the audit committee will do the quality check of the private labs. Mode of functioning, compliance with the standard operating procedures will also be checked.
On March 8, PMC had sealed three private laboratories following incomplete Covid reports presented by them.
PMC, meanwhile, has been facing the issue of improper and incomplete information given by the private labs. “Sometimes they give incomplete addresses or incorrect numbers of the Covid positive patients. Then it becomes difficult to track those infected,” said Vavre.
