LAHORE:
The Lahore High Court on Thursday ordered that all private laboratories in the Punjab would charge no more than Rs90 from dengue patients for conducting their complete blood count (CBC) tests and also set up separate counters for such patients.
Justice Muhammad Khalid Mahmood Khan also warned laboratory owners to strictly adhere to this order otherwise contempt of court proceedings would be initiated against them.
The judge further ordered that the order will in force till November 15 as Punjab government’s anti-dengue campaign will end that day.
“The government would have to approach the court in case it wanted to extend its campaign,” the judge said. The court issued the order on a writ petition challenging the sealing of a medical laboratory allegedly for charging for a dengue test.
Earlier, Sirajul Islam, a Punjab government law officer, told the court that drug inspectors were taking action against laboratories working without licences and charging more than Rs90 for the test. He said only reception centres of laboratories were being sealed. He said a CBC test cost Rs70 and the government had allowed a Rs90 charge.
The judge said the government would not be allowed to shut down laboratories on mere whim and pointed out that more rather than less laboratories were required to deal with the dengue epidemic.
“The government should refrain from unlawful steps that risk aggravating the situation. Else, the court may have to pass an order to de-seal all laboratories,” the judge added.
The judge also told lab owners that it was their responsibility to cooperate with government to alleviate the sufferings of patients.
After the court recess, the law officer produced an order for de-sealing petitioner’s laboratory. However, petitioner’s counsel, Raza Kazim, insisted that his client’s laboratory would charge Rs90 for the dengue test but could not charge Rs90 for the CBC test.
Dr Mubashar Hassan appeared before the court as the representative of a lab on Lawrence Road.
The lawyer said the Punjab government’s order about charging Rs90 is illegal. The judge said this was a case of morality, not legality. However, Kazim pointed out that Ittefaq Hospital was not following the government directions and charging dengue patients more than the rate set by the government. He presented slips issued by the hospital on September 18 to the court. The judge summoned an administration official from Ittefaq Hospital. The chief executive officer of the hospital said the hospital is conducting free CBC tests for dengue patients, but charging people Rs90 if the test showed they did not have dengue.He said the government had issued a notification on September 17, regarding charging Rs90 and the hospital had set up a separate counter for dengue patients. The court also ordered that the FIR registered against the petitioner’s employees be canceled.
The petitioner, Dr Zeenat Hussain, through her counsel Raza Kazim, submitted that on September 19, police along with other government officials invaded her medical laboratory on Lawrence Road. The counsel pleaded that the laboratory was already following the government’s directions and charging Rs90 for dengue tests.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 23rd, 2011.
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