Lahore: 63 pathology labs issued notices for violating rules, names listed

[Naveed Yaseen]

By Ali Raza
THE City District Government Lahore (CDGL) and the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) have issued warning notices to 63 pathological laboratories including those operating in some top ranking hospitals of the provincial metropolis for not following the Hospital Waste Management Rules (HWMR) 2005.

The campaign against pathological laboratories which were not following the HWMR 2005 started last week on the directions of EPD Secretary Sajjad Saleem who constituted eight inspection teams.

The notices were issued to Dr. Najam Sehar Butt of Najam Hospital (122-Jehanzaib Block, Allama Iqbal Town), Dr. Aasia Asghar of Doctors Inn Clinic (135-Jahanzaib Block, Allama Iqbal Town), Dr. Javaid Khan of Khan Hospital (01-Chenab Block, Allama Iqbal Town), Major ( R) Dr. Rahat Hussain of Rahat Laboratory (25-Jehanzaib Block, Allama Iqbal Town), Mrs. Amtul Aleem Awaan of Hussain Memorial Hospital (105-Multan Road), Dr. Farooq Saeed Khan of Farooq Hospital (02-Asif Block, Allama Iqbal Town), Captin Dr. M. Shafique of Al-Shafi Hospital (15-Gulshan Block, Allama Iqbal Town), Mrs. Sameera Tahir of Singapur Medical Centre (10-Gulshan Block, Allama Iqbal Town), Dr. Zafar Ullah Malik of Zinis Laboratory (8-Gulshan Block, Allama Iqbal Town and 99-Multan Road), Dr. Abdul Rasheed Qureshi of Zeshan Lab (303-Azeem Building, Ravi Road opposite Lady Willington Hospital), Dr. Ramzan of Axal Lahore Lab (Dr. Rizwan Complex Opp. Meo Hospital), Dr. Tanveer-ul-Islam of Nisar Lab near Alfalah Bank, Wassanpura, Dr. Samia of Shifa Lab (63-Nisbat Road), Dr. Abdul Wadood of Pride Lab (Basement New Mehmood Medical Store, Meo Hospital), Sulman Chughtai of Sulman Chughtai Lab (Opp. Emergency Gate, Meo Hospital), Dr. Zafar Iqbal of Shalimar Lab (Shalimar Link Road), Dr. Shakeel of Mushtaq Hospital & Lab (Main Link Shalamar Road), Mrs. Shazia Hameed of Shazia Hameed Lab (Opp. Shalimar Hospital, Link Shalamar Road), Dr. Maryam of Viral Lab (106-Habitat Flat, Jail Road), Dr. Shahid Mehmood of Royal Clinical Laboratory (89-C, Jail Road), Raza Ijaz of Rana Hospital (15-B, Shadman-II, Jail Road), Dr. Muhammad Khalid of Hormon Lab (104-Habitat Flat, Jail Road), Imran Raza Zaidi of Raza Medical Complex (10-C Shadman-II, Opp: Punjab institute of Cardiology, Jail Road), Dr. Muhammad Sajjad Baqar of Capital Lab (127-Habitat Flat, Shadman-II, Jail Road), Dr.Mazhar Iqbal of Ormapadic Medical Complex (Opp Kinnaired College, Jail Road), Dr. Akhtar Sohail Chughtais of Chughtais Lahore Lab, Dr. Abdul Aziz Rana of Ommar Hospital (Opp Kinnaired College, Jail Road), Dr. Akhtar Ali of Cardex Hospital (Opp Kinnaired College, Jail Road), Dr. Shaheena Asif of Surgimed Hospital (1-Zafar Ali Road), Fahdel Sheikh of Aadil Hospital (Main Boulevard D.H.A), Humayun Rasheed of Rasheed Hospital (Main Boulevard D.H.A), Jamil Arshad Chaudhry of Prime Care Hospital (Main Boulevard Defense), Ahtisham-ud-Din Qureshi of Test Care Labs (71-A, HBFC Project, opposite Allama Iqbal Medical College, Jinnah Hospital), Dr. Tauqeer Akhtar of Clin lab (517-A, Faisal Town), Dr. M. Munir of M/S Central Lab (532-A, Faisal Town), Dr. Nehal Ahmad Khan of Nehal Medical Center(519-Faisal Town), Naveed Asif Azeem and Mohsin Hadeed of A.K. Medical Laboratories (518-A, Faisal Town, Opp Jinnah Hospital), Dr. Mujtaba Jaffary of Times Hospital & Medical Centre (146-A Faisal Town), Feroz Rasool of The Aga Khan University, Dr. Shahzad S. Qureshi of Indus Lab (100-A, Shadman-I), Dr. Shahnaz Saeed Hassan of Naz Hospital & Lab (6-A, Link Shadman Road), Dr. Liaqat of Gillani Hospital (59-Riwaz Garden), Dr. Muhammad Ihsan of Ihsan Hospital (17-Shah Jamal), Naveed Anwar (Administrator) of Surayya Azeem (Waqf) Hospital (Chouburji Chowk), Dr. Zeenat of Zeenat Medical Laboratory (Pvt) Ltd (34-Lawrance Road), Dr. Irfan-ul-Haq of Haq Orthopedic (18-Sanda Road), Dr. Nayyar Islam Ch of Aadil Hospital (Kareem Park, Ravi Road), Dr. Mehboob Qadar of Al-Khursheed Laboratory (Timber Market, Ravi Road), Dr. Fahmidah Ch of Nawab Hospital (18-C, Timber Market, Ravi Road), Dr. Hasim Raza of Shama Hospital (Bagh Munshi Ladha, Kacha Ravi Road), Dr. Zafarullah Malik of Zinis Lab (241-Riwaz Garden), Qaisar Ameen Butt (Chief Executive) of Bazma Ahbab (78-Moulana Ahmed Ali Road), Dr. M. Lateef of Fatima Memorial Hospital (Shadman), Prof. Dr. Saleem Akhtar of Shadman Hospital (725-Shadman), Dr. A.S Chughtai of Chughtai Lahore Lab (8-Jail Road, Main Gulberg), Dr. Javaid Aslam Bhindar of Ammar Medical Complex (8-Jail Road, Gulberg), Dr. Irshad Ahmed Naveed of Poly Test Lab (729-Shadman), Mumtaz Khan of Labone (5/64-A, Usman Block, New Garden Town), Dr. Amer Waheed of Hi-Tech. Diagnostics (514-A, Faisal Town, Opp Jinnah Hospital), Dr. Sohail Chughtais of Chughtais Lahore Lab (513-, Faisal Town, Opp Jinnah Hospital), Dr. Khalid Mehmood of Citi Lab. & Research Centre (252-A, Maulana Shaukat Ali Road Faisal Town) and Dr. Shahid Raza Bokhari of Bokhari Laboratories (538-A, Maulana Shaukat Ali Road, Faisal Town).

The notices issued to these hospitals read that whereas the District Office Environment Lahore conducted a survey for checking compliance of the Hospital Waste Management Rules 2005 and found that your pathological laboratory/clinic/ hospital was a source of environmental nuisance. It further said that it had been confirmed through the site survey that your pathological laboratory/clinic/hospital was responsible for various Environmental Offences and illegalities as the provisions of the Hospital Waste Management Rules -2005 were not being adopted.

It said that the entity had no license for hazardous waste management, which was prerequisite and mandatory u/s 14 of the Pakistan Environment Protection Act-1997 while no waste management committee and waste management plan/system existed. The letter said that hazardous waste collection, handling and disposal system was not satisfactory and the record maintenance of generation of infectious waste did not exist. The letter further said that house keeping/ hygienic system was not satisfactory and focal person for Hospital waste Management inquires had not been designated.

The letter added that now therefore in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 7 (f) of the Act ibid, you were hereby summoned to explain your position in person or through counsel before the undersigned with submission of written defence on the afore-mentioned allegations. In case of failure, the proceeding shall be initiated against you for violation of section 14 and the Hospital Waste Management Rules 2005 for penalization u/s 17(2) of the Act ibid, the letter concluded.

District Officer (Environment), CDGL Tariq Zaman, talking with The News, said the above mentioned doctors, owners and administrators of these laboratories were issued summons under section 7(f) of the Pakistan Environment Protection Act 1997 which read with the Hospital Waste Management Rules 2005.

He said the campaign was launched after the CDGL received various complaints that majority of the pathological laboratories were not following HWMR 2005. He said the campaign comprised over two parts i.e. issuing of warning notices to those who were not following the rules and, in the second phase, the CDHL would install warning boards outside every pathological laboratory in the city containing complete procedure to dispose of syringes, blood bags and other items. He said numbers of the concerned authorities would also be written on these boards so that the patients could contact them in case they witnessed any irregularity in the prescribed procedure.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=185721