PRINCE KUMAR
Ranchi, March 17: The diagnostic services in the district hospitals of Jharkhand was sub-optimal and marred by the inadequacy of prescribed equipment and shortage of human resource which was reflected in the performance audit conducted by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. The shortage of equipment and human resource has deprived the patients of Jharkhand of evidence-based treatment procedures.
The audit observed that many of the significant radiology and pathology tests were not being carried out in the district hospitals of the state due to a lack of required equipment and skilled manpower.
Further, the lack of monitoring of waiting time (time taken in receiving samples from the patients) and turn-around time (time taken in getting the investigation done and reporting the results to the patients) have adversely affected the ability of hospitals to measure and improve the efficiency of diagnostic services.
Indian Public Health Services (IPHS) prescribes 60 types of pathological equipment for hospitals depending upon their bed capacity.
The audit observed that, against the required 60 essential equipment, only 12 to 28 equipment were available in the district hospitals of the state. Shortage of equipment in district hospitals ranged between 53 to 80%.
Lab technicians (LTs) are the key personnel for in-house laboratories and are responsible for taking samples and carrying out prescribed pathological investigations. The audit observed a shortfall of 16 to 77% in sanctioned posts of LTs with respect to IPHS norms in district hospitals of the state.
According to the provisions of the NHM Free Diagnostics Services Initiatives, 2015, all the laboratories in district hospitals would be encouraged to achieve NABL accreditation. The audit observed that all 6 test-checked District hospitals of state have not obtained NABL accreditation for their pathological laboratory during 2014–19.
Efficient and effective diagnostic services, both radiological and pathological, are amongst the most essential health care facilities for delivering quality treatment based on accurate diagnosis.
