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Friday March 29, 2024

KTH formally starts Covid-19 tests amid spike in cases

By Bureau report
May 31, 2020

PESHAWAR: Amid an unprecedented rise in the coronavirus cases, the Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) on Saturday started the relevant investigations at its Public Health Biosafety level 2 Laboratory.

The World Health Organization (WHO) had provided the machine for the PCR laboratory at the KTH. The laboratory formally started operations and has become 3rd Public Health Laboratory in the province. Health Minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra went to the KTH and formally started the operations of the lab. Health Secretary Syed Imitaz Hussain Shah accompanied him.

The minister had expressed a similar wish when the Mardan Medical Complex (MMC) had installed the PCR lab two weeks ago. He had gone to Mardan and inaugurated the lab which the MMC administration had established from own resources after the KP Health Department had failed to provide any financial assistance to them or any teaching hospital. The World Health Organisation had donated two PCR machines to the KP Health Directorate services, and both were installed at the KTH. On May 25, the National Institute of Health (NIH) had done final validation and its external quality control check was approved by the Khyber Medical University. The PCR machine is of the latest model which has the capacity to run six tests in two hours. It runs 12 tests per two hour session. Other than Covid-19 testing, the PCR will also be helpful in Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) & Ribonucleic acid (RNA) tests for different viruses. Keeping in view the machine test limitation, 50 to 80 samples will be run in initial phase. To combat the Covid-19, the BoG MTI KTH has already approved and directed the management to facilitate and special care of the patients and the staff working in triage, isolation unit and isolation private rooms.

A 55-bed fully equipped high dependency isolation unit is already functioned with 30 private rooms have already been declared Isolation for the KTH staff. All the basic needs, which include breakfast, lunch, evening tea, dinner and other necessities is provided to the staff and patients admitted to the isolation private rooms, and isolation unit from the hospital resources. The MTI KTH has received its first Covid-19 suspected patient on February 22. Since that time the hospital has screened and sampled a total of 900 patients. Out of these, 342 were found positive and the 510 remaining were negative. Up to 48 results are waited.

As many as 310 patients were admitted to the hospital and 202 treated and recovered. Up to 47 patients expired. The remaining 590 people were treated as outdoor patients whereas 61 were still admitted. The 44 employees of the hospital successfully defeated coronavirus which includes six managerial staff, 13 doctors, 13 nurses, and other employees. The WHO Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chapter In-charge Dr Saeed Akbar donated Sample storage solution, specimen collecting & transport swab, PCR testing kits for the KTH Public Health Lab Biosafety level 2 on Saturday worth Rs 2.39 million. The health minister was very positive about solving problems being faced by KTH and directed Health Secretary to take up the matter of early release of Rs 19.50 million pending amount of the renovation project.

He promised that the IBP incentive will be given to all the practitioners in MTIs’ and it is a general problem which will be solved soon across the province. Taimur Saleem Jhagra acknowledged the services of team at the KTH during the pandemic. The minister assured to enhance the capacity of PCR lab and directed Health secretary for doing everything possible for that.