While deciding to extend the outpatient department’s (OPD) diagnostic services to 24 hours, a committee in the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) advised against outsourcing laboratory services, raising concerns over quality assurance. The committee further unanimously decided to extend diagnostic services by looking into the additional manpower required and asked departments to submit details of current sanctioned posts, vacant posts and additional requirements.
However, setting aside the proposal to create additional posts, the standing finance committee (SFC) approved outsourcing 42 technical manpower posts to extend lab services for 24-hour, in its 133rd meeting, held on August 12, 2026.
In PGI, diagnostic services are available round the clock in the emergency and trauma centre, but in OPD, tests are available for a limited time. The sample collection centre takes samples until 1.30 pm. Following orders from the ministry of health and family welfare to run CT scan, MRI, ultrasound, X-ray, and all other diagnostic machines 24/7, the institute had been exploring options to do the same. A committee was formed to explore the feasibility of outsourcing laboratory services on a 24/7 basis. The committee consisting of the medical superintendent, heads of haematology, medical microbiology, and biochemistry departments, and an additional professor as convenor, advised against outsourcing laboratory services in three of its meetings.
In its first meeting, heads opined that outsourcing laboratory services would not be appropriate for an institute of eminence like PGI. The laboratory services at the institute pride themselves on the strict implementation of quality assurance and clinical departments insist on reports from the institute itself. The committee said it would be difficult to have the same kind of supervision in an outsourced laboratory service. The committee further checked the system working in AIIMS New Delhi and learned that the core lab installed in the new Rajkumari Amritkaur OPD is being run by the department staff of lab medicine, the same model as PGIMER. The collection timings there have been increased to 6.30 pm and the lab is run on a 24/7 basis. The heads of various lab services departments at PGI opined that sample collection timings of tests at OPD can be increased if additional human resources are made available. In its second meeting, the committee again reinforced that ‘in the interest of quality services as well as teaching programs running in the institute for paramedical courses as well as medical courses, it will be prudent if the institute does not outsource the lab services.’
In a final committee meeting, held under the chairmanship of deputy director Pankaj Rai on November 11 2025, all members unanimously decided that sample collection timing in OPD shall be extended till 5 pm. Further, the haematology, biochemistry, and medical microbiology departments were asked to submit information on sanctioned manpower of technicians, phlebotomists, and other vacant posts, along with the additional requirement for extending service timings up to 5 pm.
A proposal for the creation of 458 additional regular laboratory technician posts was placed in the 132nd SFC meeting held on February 18, 2026 where it was advised to rationalise the proposal and resubmit it. However, in its 133rd meeting, rather than revising the number of additional posts for creation, the SFC approved outsourcing manpower for running 24-hour diagnostic services in OPD.The PGI Medical Technologists Union is opposing the administration’s decision, citing concerns over quality assurance if manpower is outsourced for lab services.
The union has opposed the decision based on a 2005 office memorandum passed by the ministry of health and family welfare that prohibits outsourcing of technical, nursing, physiotherapy and other staff. The institute has 534 laboratory technician posts, and 64 of these are lying vacant.