JJ dean’s crackdown on touts praiseworthy

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A nexus between private diagnostic laboratories and some medical staffers came to light at a state medical facility.

The dean cracked the whip on a racket wherein those admitted were told by staffers who had a nexus to get certain blood tests done from private laboratories. The families were given a paper detailing the tests and provided numbers of private labs. Moreover, private laboratory representatives were actually moving around in the hospital in order to be accessible and facilitate this.

The dean has ordered the in-house laboratory to conduct basic tests and put an end to private lab representatives spotted inside.

This is welcome and firm action as this has activated the machinery inside the in-house labs making it more active and they have started conducting some tests which were not happening earlier. This proves that they did have the wherewithal to do so, but it was not happening for some reason. Patients will benefit from this.

There is also a lesson to be learnt that when there is a vacuum, which happens because of circumstances either self-made or some hardship, opportunists will smell the coffee or here, the potential and muscle in to make that money.

It is good, too, that the dean has taken a non-negotiable stand on outsiders inside hospital premises and ordered them out. It now has to be seen whether this is for the long-term as these kinds of rackets should be nipped in the bud and action should be comprehensive so that they do not resurface in any shape or form.

We need vigilance and punitive action on staffers who have been part of this nexus so that it sets an example, and employees understand that there will be consequences for such acts. More power to a cleaner medical system and to authorities who have taken a tough stand to weed this out.