Jalandhar lab samples sent for audit to PGI

Aparna Banerji

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, July 29

The district administration today sent 15 random samples from the local Patel Hospital lab to the PGIMER, Chandigarh, for an audit after an inquiry was sought into anomalies in Covid-positive test reports at the hospital.

Isha Kalia, Special Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, sought an audit of Covid testing at Patel Hospital by the Director, PGIMER, citing an unusually high positivity rate of 26.34 per cent. The hospital authorities have, however, claimed that they wouldsubmit the “actual data” to the authorities so that the “error” could be corrected.

The special secretary had asked the district administration to send 15 random samples (10 positive, five negative) for the audit. In her letter to Dr Jagat Ram, Director, PGIMER, she wrote: “It is noticed that they (Patel Hospital authorities) are reporting 26.4 per cent positivity in samples tested by them. This is very high as compared to any other government/ private lab. It is requested that the PGIMER may conduct an audit of the lab. The district administration shall choose 10 random positive samples and five random negative samples for sending to you for the audit.”

The development has come amidst an inquiry ordered by the Deputy Commissioner, Jalandhar, into the testing by Patel Hospital and its lab in Jalandhar. The inquiry was ordered on July 23 on a complaint filed by a resident who claimed that the hospital charged Rs 5,500 for an RT-PCR test, even though the price had been capped at Rs 2,400 by the state government. The report of inquiry into overcharging is still pending.

In a detailed rebuttal issued by the hospital, it claimed: “The information regarding Patel Hospital having a positivity rate of 26.34 per cent is wrong. As per data submitted to the ICMR, the actual figure is 59 positive tests from a total of 413 tests, indicating a positivity of 14.28 per cent, which is half of the claimed value and comparable with other labs. This data will be submitted to local authorities as directed so that the error can be corrected.”

‘Unusually high positivity rate’

• Isha Kalia, Special Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, sought an audit of Covid testing at Patel Hospital by Director, PGIMER, citing an unusually high positivity rate of 26.34 per cent.
• The hospital authorities have, however, claimed that they would submit the “actual data” to the authorities so that the “error” could be corrected.