Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The medical technologists at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences have made themselves managers and laboratory supervisors without any order from the management leaving the patients at the mercy of the ward boys. The blood samples of the patients were kept on the testing devise for many hours due to the negligence of medical technologists due to which 80 per cent of the blood turned into clots and the report of the different patients was blank. The medical technologists are getting a hefty pay of Rs 100,000 per month, but they made themselves managers and laboratory supervisors just to hide from performing their duties either with the connivance of the Head of the Pathology Department or in excess of their authority.

The sources told Daily Times that on the new laboratory counter the bio-metric system of attendance is installed for the employees but the senior doctors of the pathology department have exempted these medical technologists for marking their attendance and they used to vanish from duty for four to five days in a week. Due to absence of the staff the patients have to visit the laboratory again and again for collecting and submitting their samples. The sources said that the most of the medical technologists came from other institutions on deputation as one MT Khurram was picked from Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre Karachi for only carrying out histopathology tests for the cancer patients, but he declared himself as a laboratory supervisor and this important test is done by a ward boy, Nisar. Khurram also gets additional pay as he delivers a lecture to the students of the College of Medical Technologists.

The administration of the hospital has transferred Aslam, PA to the Head of Pathology Department Dr Ashok Kumar, to the OPD on remaining absent for 15 days without any report but he got his transfer stopped. The sources said that Aslam also gets commission from different private laboratories for sending the patients to them. When Daily Times contacted HoD, Dr Ashok Kumar, , he said that the patient had a right at PIMS and no negligence would be tolerated in the laboratory of PIMS. He showed his unawareness about the self-created posts. The Administrator of PIMS, Dr Altaf, said the situation would be reviewed minutely and if anybody was found involved then he would be removed from the post.