Finally, Chandigarh's Sector 16 GMSH gets RT-PCR laboratory

Naina Mishra

Chandigarh, February 21

After nearly two years into the pandemic, Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, is ready with a full-fledged RT-PCR laboratory.

Was earlier dependent on GMCH-32, PGI

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Earlier, the GMSH was dependent on either the GMCH or the PGI for reports of Covid samples collected by its teams. The GMSH also 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.

Paediatrics centre may miss deadline

A 32-bed paediatrics unit was also approved by the Centre for the GMSH, for which Rs2.25 crore was sanctioned. It will have 20 oxygen-supported beds and a 12-bed hybrid ICU unit. The project will take more time and is likely to miss the March 2022 deadline.

With a capacity of 200 tests per day, the laboratory will give reports of Covid samples of city residents. Earlier, the GMSH was dependent on either the GMCH or the PGI for reports of Covid samples collected by its teams. The GMSH also 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.

Confirming the development, Dr Suman Singh, Director, Health Services, Chandigarh, said, “The laboratory has been constructed for conducting RT-PCR tests. We are currently running trials and will be able to carry out 200 tests per day in the initial phase.”

Chandigarh was given Rs5.6 crore for projects under the Emergency Covid Response and Health System Preparedness (ECRP). The Centre had approved Rs35 lakh for setting up an RT-PCR laboratory at the GMSH. The laboratory has been completed before the March deadline.

With this, the city now has four government facilities for RT-PCR testing — the PGI, GMCH, GMSH and IMTECH — and three private laboratories. The RT-PCR capacity of the PGI stands at 2,500 samples per day and that of the GMCH at around 1,000 samples per day. Chandigarh has conducted over 10 lakh Covid tests since the beginning of pandemic in March 2020.