Govt to empower national reference lab to diagnose diseases properly: Ziauddin

Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Health Dr SM Ziauddin Hayder has termed patients’ extended waiting period at government medical centres as unacceptable, saying technology must be used to synchronise government health services with patients’ time, dignity and benefits.

Ziauddin made the remarks while visiting the Institute of Laboratory Medicine and Referral Center in the capital’s Agargaon area on Monday.

During the visit, Ziauddin watched the laboratory’s activities, talked with patients and their relatives, and exchanged views with doctors and officials.

Later, he participated in a meeting with the officials of the institute. Dr Rui Liu from Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Dr San Juan from Oxford University accompanied Ziauddin during the visit.

During the meeting, detailed discussion was held to turn the institute into a full-fledged national reference laboratory and centre of excellence.

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During this time, Ziauddin said the ADB has agreed to provide technical assistance for this initiative.

He said, “Our goal is not only to increase the efficiency of an institution, rather building such a national laboratory network where samples of a patient from a hard-to-reach area will be collected and transported maintaining quality and will be able to be examined at a high-quality reference lab.”

At the end of the visit, Ziauddin prioritised identifying the administrative and efficiency gaps and taking realistic, necessary steps quickly.