Jaipur: SMS Hospital has found itself at the centre of safety concerns over alleged violations of Centre’s prescribed norms for clinical sample collection and transportation, amid reports of patient attendants being routinely asked to carry biological specimens from wards to laboratories in violation of rules.The practice has raised questions over diagnostic accuracy, patient safety, infection-control risks and possible delays in treatment at one of the state’s busiest hospitals, where thousands of samples are handled daily.A TOI visit to the hospital Sunday found patient attendants holding vials of blood, urine and other bodily fluids while moving between wards, billing counters, collection centres and laboratories – work that trained hospital staff are supposed to handle.Long queues of attendants holding vials of samples for testing stretch through the hospital’s corridors. Many appear exhausted as they hold sealed samples in plastic bags or trays, trying to avoid spills while navigating crowded spaces.The safety risks arising out of potentially infectious samples being carried around without professional handling support are enormous.It is not as if the nature and magnitude of the problem is hidden from authorities.SMS Medical College principal and controller Dr Deepak Maheshwari said the hospital has made arrangements for ward boys to transport test samples from wards and ICUs to laboratories.“When adequate staff is not available, however, patient attendants are asked to transport clinical samples and get tests done,” he admitted.Under the Centre’s Clinical Establishments Act and the standards notified for sample collection and transport, clinical samples must be transported in line with biosafety protocols, including those laid down in WHO Laboratory Biosafety Manual.The manual requires that staff responsible for transporting clinical samples be trained in safe handling, spill-management protocols and emergency response. In the event a sample’s integrity is compromised and poses a health risk, the organisation responsible for its transport must be informed immediately and corrective action initiated to reduce risk and prevent recurrence.Clinical samples requiring urgent testing or special handling must be transported under appropriate conditions to preserve sample integrity, the WHO manual says.At SMS Hospital, however, clinical samples are often left with patient attendants who usually have neither the knowledge nor the training required to handle them.What The Rules SaySamples must be carried under suitable conditions to prevent contamination, leakage or deteriorationIf sample integrity is affected or poses a health risk, corrective action must be initiated immediately and recurrence prevented
