Editor Mr.Mayank Rawat ( Chief Editor Mr. Rohit Mishra )
New Delhi: The Delhi health department has selected 11 hospitals across 11 districts to establish integrated public health laboratories (IPHL).
These labs will support primary health centres and sub-centres in their respective districts.
The diagnostic services will start three months after these get approval from senior authorities regarding the proposed hospital selections, according to a senior official.
A health official explained that the laboratories will offer comprehensive diagnostic services, including pathological, biochemical and haematological tests.
The facilities will examine blood samples and other body fluids to detect and monitor diseases. Haematology will examine blood disorders, biochemistry will evaluate fluid components, and pathology will study tissue samples.
The equipment procurement will align with specific requirements. Essential devices required according to the 2021 integrated public health laboratories guidelines include automated coagulometer, automated ESR analyser, centrifuge, binocular microscope, fluorescent microscope, real-time PCR machine, and automated blood culture equipment.
As district hospitals currently own various testing devices, existing infrastructure will be utilised before purchasing new equipment, the health official said.
The proposed district hospitals for IPHL establishment include Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital in east, Maharishi Valmiki Hospital in north, Guru Gobind Singh Govt Hospital in west, Pt Madan Mohan Malaviya Hospital in south, Ambedkar Nagar Hospital in south-east, Indira Gandhi Hospital in south-west, and Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital in Shahdara.
The minimum staffing requirement for 24/7 integrated district hospital laboratory operations as per IPHS includes three specialists (pathologist, microbiologist, and biochemist), 11 laboratory technicians across three shifts, plus data entry operators, cleaning staff, housekeeping, and security personnel.
The official said, “The integrated public health laboratory (IPHL) plays a vital role in supporting regular surveillance activities and investigating disease outbreaks. The vision is a reduction in mortality, morbidity and out of pocket expenditure (OOPE) by effectively preventing and controlling the diseases through rapid and reliable screening, early detection, and laboratory diagnosis of communicable, non-communicable and other emerging diseases.”
Officials indicated that integrating laboratory services is crucial for maximising efficiency, avoiding resource duplication, improving patient care, and enabling multi-disease testing capabilities. This strategy ensures preparedness for emerging health challenges.
Furthermore, IPHL can analyse human clinical specimens and environmental samples from water, food, and air during outbreaks, providing immediate reporting within public health surveillance systems. The facility also offers diagnostic services for communicable and non-communicable diseases, including tests for national programmes covering TB, HIV, malaria, viral hepatitis, and other conditions requiring biosafety level 2 laboratory conditions.
The collected samples typically fall into two categories: blood and compartmental specimens (nasal, sputum, saliva, urine, etc.). The transportation methods vary based on sample type and required testing.
Mayank Rawat
