THE Dr. Balwant Singh Hospital on Saturday officially announced it has procured two new analyzers to boost the hospital’s medical capacity and facilitate various tests at affordable costs.

The analyzers are the Cobas c 311 Chemistry Analyser and the Cobas e 411 Immunology Analyser.Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton, has commended the hospital on this development. “They are lifting the bar on what is available in laboratory testing in Guyana, as quality healthcare is always expensive and a large part of the budget is always dedicated to healthcare,” he said, adding:

“It is a fact that the private/public partnership is one means of reducing the cost of services to patients, as many facilities will only be available at the private level.”

It has been acknowledged that “a lot of lab tests in Guyana have been sourced to overseas at great cost.” “Therefore,” Dr Madhu Singh of the Balwant Singh Hospital said, “we look forward to easing the burden of Guyanese patients at much less cost and at a shorter time.”

Dr Singh explained that the analyzers will offer tests for viruses and diseases such as Interleukin 6, Hepatitis B, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), and the Anti Cyclic citrullinated protein (Anti CCP), which will allow doctors to better predict the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

The Cobas 4000 series was designed to provide high performance assays and generate faster results of excellent quality, as its robust design and advanced technology allow for the highest standard in confidence and quality of laboratory work.

These analysers are the only ones of their kind in Guyana, and the Cobas 4000 series is the first to be installed in the Caribbean.

As compared to other private laboratories, the hospital will offer anti-mullerian hormone tests starting from as low as $4,000, whereas other labs offer the same test at $50,000.

The hospital always plans on providing a turnaround time of three hours, as compared to regular hospitals having a turnaround time of 14 working days.

By Navendra Seoraj