Noida / Ghaziabad: With a surge in Covid infection and an increase in demand for RT-PCR tests, the Government of the Medical Institute (GIMS) was recently written to the state government that was seeking additional workers for molecular diagnostics and research laboratories (MDRL).
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At present, the Lab has 15 staff – five Lab technicians, two data entry operators and one lab supervisor work in the lab other than other supporting staff – and are testing more than 6,000 samples per day.
With a recent increase in cases, along with people who are looking for more accurate PCR laboratory tests to travel or return to work among others, MDRL estimates the volume of tests to rise significantly.
“We are testing around 6,000-7,000 samples per day today, but our plans are operating at our maximum capacity of 12,000 tests per day.
The power of staff today cannot handle such sample volumes,” Dr.
Vivek Gupta, Associate Professor in the Department Pathology and responsible for MDRL, to TII.
MDRL has searched eight Lab technicians, two data on data entry operators and lab supervisors to meet the target.
During the second wave of the pandemic last year, more than 30 staff worked all the time in the lab to ensure delivery of test reports on time.
Of only 50 samples a day from the beginning of April last year, officials said, lab capacity was supported to carry out 12,000 tests per day during the second wave.
However, because of the number of cases that subside and the samples sent for the test dropped to 4,000 per day, additional staff in charge elsewhere.
At present, the laboratory handles samples from Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar and those who come from their own institutions.
Dr.
Gupta added that he could serve neighboring districts as such additional staff joined additional lab tasks so that they could reduce fat test results.
At present, there is a delay of three to four days in receiving RT-PCR test reports.
“We collected more than 5,000 samples to test through the RT-PCR method every day during the past week, while the target of the country is 3,500.
It has caused a penditency and to deal with it, we have asked the government to attach us to one more department,” District Supervision Officer DR RK Gupta Said.
Surbhi Dixit, Microbiologist Posted on and MMG Hospital Lab, “We handle around 1,800-2,000 samples per day, so the remaining samples are sent to the gims.
With the daily sample peposititivity that drove around 20-30%, sample verification requires Longer time.
“The Covid Lab at the Postgraduate Child Health Institute, which has a test capacity of 8,000 samples per day, currently gets around 5,000-6,000 samples every day, Dr.
Sumi Nandwani, Head of the Department of Microbiology, said, adding that it processed the sample of GB Nagar, Rampur, Bulandshahr and Baghpat.