Pandemic: Shortage of lab technicians to collect samples

About 75% of people involved in the home collection of Covid swab samples in Bengaluru are not adequately qualified, claims V Venkataswamy, president of Karnataka Rajya Medical Lab Technologists Association (KRMLTA).

Some private labs have recruited Class 8 and 10 dropouts and lab attendants for the job by putting them through a short training to meet the Covid caseload and for a monthly salary of Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,000, he has learnt from 800 members of his association, who are technicians working in government and private labs.

“This is hurting the careers of people who study to become medical technicians. A technician should pursue a three-year Certificate Course in Medical Laboratory Technology after Class 10, or a two-year Diploma in Laboratory Techniques after Class 12. They go on to do home collection, run tests, monitor quality and participate in research projects in pharma companies,” he argues.

The government has introduced a six-month programme to train those who have passed Class 10 as lab technicians but Venkataswamy doesn’t consider it technically rigorous. “It doesn’t include exams or internships,” he says.

Dr H M Prasanna, president of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association, hasn’t heard about private labs employing inadequately trained staff but says, “(Since Covid), lots of players have come up in the home collection sector. What quality control are they following? We don’t know. But as the market matures, quality will come into play.”

Technicians speak

Low salary and job insecurity are hurting the profession. “An entry-level technician earns Rs 8,000-Rs 12,000 and seniors up to Rs 20,000,” says Venkataswamy.

A young BSc graduate who has completed a Medical Lab Technology course works two jobs from 7 am to 10 pm every day because his salary is “low”. “I work for a hospital (in Koramangala) in the first shift and do a part-time job at a lab. Both involve home collection. It is pandemic and I need to keep the jobs,” he says.

The need for technicians for home collection in Bengaluru shot up by over 60% since the pandemic broke out, Venkataswamy claims.

The government is hiring swab collectors on an ad-hoc or contract basis, which the fraternity is not happy about.

A lab technician, who has worked with NIMHANS and is now working with a private lab, explains the discontent: “Where will they go after the contract or pandemic is over? Two, people doing contractual jobs work harder out of the fear of losing what they have.” He talks of his plight, “I am 36 years old and I have 10 years of experience. The government still did not offer me a permanent job.”

Many have, thus, quit the profession to become “salespersons and delivery agents,” he says.

Private labs outsourcing recruitment is another problem. “If Rs 20,000 salary is offered, one gets Rs 12,000 after the agency takes away the commission,” he alleges. A qualified technician knows how to talk to clients at home with respect, clear their doubts, collect the swab, and store and label it correctly, says a senior freelancer. “We need more educated technicians to bring respect to the profession,” he says.

The National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Bill, 2021, mandates every state to form a Paramedical Council.

“Maharashtra has it so far. Such a council will help us curb untrained technicians and illegal labs,” says Venkataswamy, who had made a similar demand in 2017.

‘Worked overtime’

Two lab technicians and a freelancer acknowledged they were working extra hours last month when the cases soared.

“Before Covid, I would collect five to six samples a day between 6 am and 12 pm. Now, I was collecting 15-20 samples till 4 pm. The lab I was freelancing for had not increased my salary but gave me an incentive of Rs 150 for every sample collection and covered the fuel cost. Not all companies did this though,” a technician from Nagarabhavi said.”

There was no shortage on the government side. Speaking to Metrolife, the BBMP chief health officer Dr A S Balasundar said, “We hire them when there is a requirement and remove when there isn’t.” They had 629 swab collectors until recently and they removed some after the caseload came down. These swab collectors are graduates in science-related courses and given a week’s training for swab collection, he added.