All COVID-19 test results go straight to Volda Lawrence from the lab

Apr 06, 2020 News

When COVID-19 tests are conducted, doctors and nurses would be forced to wait for sometimes days before they are given the results.
This delay is due to the fact that the test results move straight from the lab to former Public Health Minister, Volda Lawrence, and her “relevant heads”. Amid several complaints and concerns by those in the medical profession, Minister Lawrence confirmed this on Saturday last during a virtual press conference.

Former Public Health Minister, Volda Lawrence

Minister Lawrence stated that “information from the lab is sent to her and relevant heads.”
“When the report is received, it is embargoed to the public…persons who do not have anything to do with the response to COVID.”
The Minister explained that this route is taken because of a previous incident where a patient’s information was made public without them knowing.
“Information was released without the patient’s knowing the status and the family members not having been informed about it directly but learning about it via social media.”
The Minister has come under heavy criticism for the method used- by many in the medical field including former Health Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy along with Dr. Vindhya Persaud, a former Parliamentarian for the Opposition.

The issue was raised by Dr. Persaud who took to her Facebook page after receiving a string of complaints from a few doctors and nurses. Dr. Persaud stated that “the disturbing situation has worsened; doctors are not been given test results as they become available through the lab.”
In her statement, Dr. Persaud said that the “clamp down attitude is endangering healthcare workers and delaying the care that patients may need based on test results.”
“Time is going and we are all seeing videos and statements from sick patients who need to be tested to the necessary flow from test to treatment to contact tracking and isolation, quarantine or treatment could be done.”
This she said, “is how you flatten the curve at that level.”
Meanwhile, Ramsammy stressed that “COVID -19 testing is a diagnostic testing. Doctors must determine who should be tested, when and results should go to the requesting doctor.”