Sickle cell lab shift from IGGMCH quashed by High Court

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court, Nagpur Bench Justices Arun Upadhyay and Bhushan Dharmadhikari quashed the state government decision of shifting the Polymers Chain Reaction (PCR) lab presently situated at India Gandhi Government Medical College (IGGMCH), Nagpur to the Government Medical College and Hospital in Chandrapur.

In a directive, the bench ordered that a separate facility is started at Chandrapur, on the basis of need. The court was responding to a Suo Motu case hearing involving the Medical Council of India and the state health department.

In 2006, a PCR facility had been provided for prenatal sickle cell testing at the IGGMCH by the MCI and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). A paucity of patients is the reason given by the state health department for its decision to shift the facility to Chandrapur.

Amicus curiae Anup Gilda had informed the court that the shortage of technical staff was the real reason behind the trickle of patients at the facility, despite a large number of sickle cells patients enrolled at the IGGMCH reports TOI.

Paying heed to this, the High court had put a stay over the decided facility shift. Mehroz Pathan appeared as the Counsel state government.