Maharashtra: Labs grapple with work load, few technicians

PUNE: Timely delivery of test results is becoming an uphill task for most laboratories, as they grapple with a shortage of technicians amid the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in the state.
The 402 laboratories in the state testing over 80,000 samples a day are hard pressed to issue the results on time due to the shortage of technicians. Representatives of most laboratories were of the view that many of their technicians have tested positive for the virus, while the volume of their daily work load has increased manifold since the pre-Covid days.They stated that hiring trained technicians overnight was a challenge as well.

The importance of the tests has assumed further significance with the state commencing the “My family, my responsibility” initiative — a door-to-door survey to identify people with the risk of contracting the infection.
Maharashtra health officials stated that the laboratories have been told to recruit more people to meet the requirements. A representative of a city-based laboratory told TOI that there was a lot of stress on timely submission of reports.
State Indian Medical Association President Avinash Bhondwe said more laboratories should be given permission to make the task easy with the existing infrastructure. “I have written to the state government to ease the rules of only sanctioning the laboratories with the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories for the tests,” he said.
“The state has over 5,000 laboratories. Giving sanction to more laboratories will definitely ease the pressure on the government and private laboratories that are already conducting the tests. In Pune city too, several laboratories have been issued notices for delayed reports. It’s a cause for concern that many laboratories are giving appointments for tests only after 2-3 days a person approaches,” Bhondwe said.
Manish Kolge, a senior physician attached to a nursing home, said the increasing number of health care workers getting infected added to the burden on hospitals. “Hospitals have to pay for PPEs, N95 masks and hand sanitizers, leading to a significant loss of revenues,” he added.
Senior epidemiologist Giridhar R Babu said Maharashtra’s high test positivity rate (20%) indicated that the state needed to ensure manifold rise in testing to contain the Covid-19 spread. “High mortality rate indicates several problems, including late detection, delayed referrals and poor health system response,” he said.