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Govt. greenlights private hospitals’ testing for COVID-19

Apr 12, 2020 News

Private Health Institutions will now be able to test for the novel Coronavirus since the Public Health Ministry has granted permission for them to acquire the needed testing kits.
This was revealed by Head of the National COVID-19 Task Force, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, during a virtual press conference yesterday.
“We have now given the greenlight for the private hospitals to import their own testing kits so that you can supplement and do rapid testing in both state and non-state intuitions,” Nagamootoo announced.
Added to that, the private pospitals will be asked to dedicate some of their space to facilitate the treatment and management of positive COIVD-19 patients, he said.
The Chairman of the Task Force pointed out that “government cannot be a monopoly in regards to testing. Private Institutions should be allowed to bring in testing kits and to dispense testing so they are being brought into play and are now a partner.”
When asked whether the state will have some control over the cost of testing, Prime Minister Nagamootoo explained that this will be determined by the private hospitals themselves.
He could not say whether the cost will be absorbed by the State.
The issue of private hospitals not being able to test for COVID-19 came to the forefront last week when the privately operated Woodlands Hospital revealed that it had requested permission from government to import testing kits.
The request had gone unanswered for several weeks.
Public Health Minister, Volda Lawrence, had stated that only polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing is proven effective in testing for COVID-19 and that any facility that wishes to begin testing must be able to conduct this type of test.
Dr. Shoba Gobin of Woodlands Hospital, relayed to Kaieteur News that now, with permission granted, the aim is to import the testing kits as soon as possible.
The testing kits will take approximately 4-6 weeks to arrive.
As it relates to the cost for the tests to be done, Dr. Shoba explained that they will have to factor in the cost to import the testing kits and the needed protective equipment used when conducting the tests.
“We had never planned to make money off of it,” Dr. Shoba asserted. (Shikema Dey)

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