File complaint, says Kashmir Director Health
Srinagar: A well-known diagnostic laboratory in Srinagar, Qadri Lab, has put to risk the life of an infant due to gross negligence. The lab staff, as per the guardian of the newborn, had consented to do some medical tests that were crucial for the child’s diagnosis. The lab staff, however, skipped one important test, putting the child’s life in danger.
Suhail Ahmad, the guardian, told Kashmir Reader that after the birth of the child, due to some medical conditions, the doctor asked for CSF analysis for culture, Microscopic TLC and DLC, Biochemistry of Proteins and Sugar for diagnosis.
Ahmad said the samples were taken, one of them of a fluid taken from the newborn’s back, which is only taken a few times in the lifetime of a person, at the private hospital where the child was born. These samples were sent to the lab for tests.
“The lab took the samples, gave us the receipt, and made us wait for 48 hrs. Then they sent us the reports online, but the culture report was missing. On inquiry, we were told that they had missed it, and apologised,” Ahmad told Kashmir Reader.
As a result, he said, the doctors who were treating the baby asked the family to take him home, because in the absence of the culture report, the treatment could not be started.
“They said, the other reports are okay, but the culture report is missing, hence nothing can be done further. The fluid also cannot be taken again, they said, leaving us in a state where we could not do anything. If anything happens as a result of this negligence, who shall be responsible?” Ahmad said.
Owner of the Qadri lab, Dr Bashir Qadri’s phone was switched off. He was also not present at his office when this newspaper tried to seek a response from him. A representative at the main counter of the lab acknowledged the mistake.
Director of Health Services Dr Mushtaq Rather told Kashmir Reader that the action shall be taken on the issue, once a complaint is filed in his office.
Ahmad has decided to file a complaint against the lab for negligence.