Enhance facilities in govt laboratories in Kochi: TJ Vinod

Kochi: T J Vinod, MLA, asked govt to enhance public health laboratories to address difficulties faced by public in conducting diagnoses and lab tests in Kochi. According to Vinod, facilities in Kochi were well below demand.Vinod requested health minister to take urgent steps to ensure fast and reliable laboratory services for public. He pointed out that, due to lack of necessary facilities and technical systems in laboratories operating in various govt hospitals in Kochi, there were delays in obtaining test results. "Especially for crucial tests, including preventive screenings, public faced significant inconvenience due to hours-long waits. This caused a lot of difficulty and inconvenience to patients who depended on public health facilities in the city," Vinod pointed out."Even patients who go to public laboratories for fasting blood sugar tests could only be tested if they wait until 8.30am, and many tests could not be conducted due to unavailability of necessary reagents," he said.To address this, Vinod urged the minister to take immediate steps to establish required posts, provide modern equipment and extend laboratories' working hours. It was also suggested that staff shifts should be rescheduled to conduct fasting tests early in the morning. The MLA emphasized that govt intervention is essential to prevent ordinary patients visiting govt hospitals from having to turn to private laboratories.