JJ Hosp sets up inquiry committee to find nexus

Mumbai: The staterun Sir JJ Group of Hospitals (JJ Hospital) has instituted an inquiry committee to unearth the nexus between hospital administrators found to be outsourcing routine medical tests for complete blood count (CBC) and electrolyte panel (aka serum electrolyte test) that are available in-house.

Confirming this, the Dean of JJ Hospital, Dr Pallavi Saple told First India, “I had restarted the in-house testing facilities (on April 01) upon assuming charge in the hospital. However, we found that patients were still being referred to external agencies for these routine tests that are available 24/7 within the hospital facility itself. This has had the desired effect and we will audit the situation in a month’s time.”

The south-Mumbai facility sees a daily average of more than 300 outpatients as well as close to 2,000 patients admitted to the institution for medical treatment at any given time. While the need for the inquiry may stem from the fact that multiple pathological test centres have mushroomed in Mumbai, particularly during the pandemic, when government-operated medical facilities were besieged by COVID-19 patients. The continuation of the outsourcing even now is most likely owing to commercial relationships created with private pathological laboratories seeking a ready flow of clients and willing to pay a quick buck under the table.

Alongside the inquiry committee, the existing infrastructure at the hospital is also being leveraged to create a database to benchmark the efficiency of medical care provided to patients visiting the medical centre, which is seeking to transform itself to make it on par with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.