15 months on, GMSH-16 plans laboratory for RT-PCR tests

Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 14

Nearly 15 months after the pandemic started, Government Multi-Specialty Hospital, Sector 16, is preparing to set up a laboratory for conducting RT-PCR tests ahead of a possible third wave.

The purchase of a gold standard RT-PCR machine will augment the capacity of tests and can decrease reliance on other health institutes for Covid tests.

Till now, the hospital used to collect samples for the Covid-19 test, but was dependent on the PGI and the GMCH, Sector 32, for the RT-PCR reports.

Dr Amandeep Kaur Kang, Director, Health Services, UT, said, “We have initiated the process of setting up a laboratory for Covid-19 testing and it will be ready within two months. To begin with, the institute will be able to do 500 tests daily.”

Failing to expand the RT-PCR testing capacity in government institutions, the UT Administration had roped in private testing laboratories during the second wave. The ministry had asked the UT to increase the share of RT-PCR tests to 80 per cent of the total tests. Both the PGI and the GMCH could not stretch the capacity to 950 samples per day.

The low testing capacity in the UT for RT-PCR tests during the second wave cost the UT Administration Rs 77 lakh as the amount was reimbursed to private laboratories for giving timely RT-PCR reports.

As of now, the GMSH has a TrueNat machine that gives results in three to four hours, but is only meant for testing of emergency cases and not mass-scale testing.

On the contrary, the general hospital in the neighbouring district of Panchkula, which earlier used to be dependent on Karnal for Covid testing, has set up its own laboratory and has a capacity of testing around 2,000 samples a day.

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