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Limited capacity in govt institutes, Chandigarh ropes in pvt labs to expand RT-PCR tests
Failing to expand the RT-PCR testing facilities in government institutions, the UT administration has roped in private testing laboratories to meet the target set by the Union health ministry amid the rising Covid-19 infection trajectory in the city
Failing to expand the RT-PCR testing facilities in government institutions, the UT administration has roped in private testing laboratories to meet the target set by the Union health ministry amid the rising Covid-19 infection trajectory in the city.
The UT administration, on Tuesday, held a meeting with representatives of eight private laboratories, asking them to process the samples collected by the UT health department at a fixed rate.
Earlier, the UT administration had asked Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) and Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, to expand testing, but the capacity could not be stretched beyond 950 samples a day.
The requirement is to expand the weekly RT-PCR testing to 70% from the current level of 50%.
UT officials said the PGIMER, after the request of the administration, had obliged to process 600 samples of UT, and GMCH-32 was directed to expand the capacity from current 200 to 400. With more samples being collected for the RT-PCR testing, the turnaround period for the reports of the samples has also increased to 48 hours. The official said that though all private laboratories have accepted the proposal, a few labs require more than 24 hours to process the tests, however, the administration has put a strict condition to process the tests within 24 hours. UT health secretary Arun Kumar Gupta said due to the issue of less capacity within the government sector, the private players have been involved to increase the pace of testing the city and meet the target of RT-PCR testing.
“There have been some issues with increasing the testing in the government sector. On the pattern of Haryana, we have roped in private players to help us increase the ratio of the RT-PCR testing ratio as per the instructions of the central government. We have started with 200 samples today and based on our requirement, private facilities will be used. The expenditure for the same will be borne from the Covid fund by UT Administration,” he said.
However, the decision has not gone well with residents who suggest that the government facilities should be increased for better quality and management of resource. “We have institutes like PGIMER and GMCH-32 which can easily process the samples. Resources should be utilised for increasing the capacity in the government sector,” said RK Garg, president of Second Innings Association.
Responding to the criticism, UT Adviser Manoj Parida said, “PGIMER only receives 600 samples and the facility at GMCH-32 is also limited. It is the need of the hour to expand the facility and every available resource is being utilised.” Officials said orders for more machines for RT-PCR testing at GMCH-32 have been placed.
