Govt moots control of private labs in state: Minister

Kochi, Sept 30: Kerala Health Minister P K Sreemathy has said that the government was mooting a plan to control the mushrooming of private medical labs in the state.

Addressing the inaugural function of the joint venture between Doctor's Diagnostic&Research Centre (DDRC) and Wellspring, a fully owned subsidary of Nicholas Piramal India Limited here last evening, the minister said the government was planning to chalk out a programme to exercise control over the private labs in the state as the medical tests were pivotal for the proper diagnosis of a disease.

The minister lamented on the non-availability of labs to detect Chikungunya fever which was suspected to be gripping Chertala in the neigbouring Alappuzha district.

Nicholas Group Chairman Ajay G Piramal said the venture would help provide better diagnostic service with the best available technology.

He said the R&D wing of the group was undertaking concerted research in cancer, inflammatory diseases and diabetes.

The diagnostics would be the first and the largest capable of investigations in Cytogenetics, Immunohistochemistry, Pathology, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Virology, Immunology and Radiology with Nuclear Medicine.

UNI