PANAJI
Dr Sunita Arlekar has denied that any equipment or machine related to tests for suspected dengue patients at the Urban Health Centre (UHC) in Panaji has broken down or patients sent back without being given reports.
Dr Arlekar, who is the health officer in-charge of the UHC at Panaji, said patients many a times inaccurately report their grievances to the media. She was reacting to the report published by The Goan in its Thursday edition wherein it was reported that patients whose blood samples were taken for platelet count tests were turned back by the UHC staff on the pretext that equipment was malfunctioning and the tests results were not available.
The UHC has the dengue rapid test kits in stock and conducts those instantly. Patients are given prescriptions as if they are dengue positive for the initial days. The UHC does not have the facility to conduct platelet count tests. The blood samples are sent to the North Goa District Hospital (Asilo) in Mapusa where it is done and the report takes a couple of days to be finalised, Dr Arlekar added.
