A laboratory technician who hasn’t reported to work for about 30 years has been shown as ‘still in service’ by the BMC-run V N Desai hospital at Santacruz. The embarrassing lapse came to the fore after the civic body prepared a list of potential candidates to promote them as junior scientific officers and the woman emerged as the senior-most employee to take up the post.

Sources said at least seven junior scientific officers’ posts are now vacant at civic healthcare facilities, including MW Desai hospital at Malad, Cooper hospital at Juhu, Shatabdi at Kandivli and VN Desai hospital.