– Health Minister urges public to ‘stick to’ licensed facilities

By Vishani Ragobeer

PRIVATE medical facilities, which advertised that they are offering Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) COVID-19 tests even though they were not licensed by the Public Health Ministry, are now seeking approval from the health authorities to offer this service.

The Guyana Chronicle understands that there are two private medical facilities which have advertised that they are offering PCR testing, which is the ‘gold standard’ test used to diagnose whether someone is affected with the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. And, one of the two medical facilities even told this newspaper that it was “certified” by the ministry. This was false.

In an interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI) on Monday, Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony reminded that only two institutions are authorised to offer PCR testing – the Ministry’s National Public Health Reference Laboratory (NPHRL) and the Eureka Medical Laboratory (the only private facility currently with authorisation).

The Eureka Laboratory was inspected and deemed capable of offering the service. Other private institutions, including the Sheriff Medical Centre, have engaged the health authorities in an attempt to garner the approval needed to offer PCR testing.

These institutions, according to the minister, are at various stages of setting up this service but it is crucial that they receive the approval from the ministry. Dr. Anthony explained that for a private institution to gain approval, their facilities would be assessed and deemed fit. The assessment would cover whether the institution has a PCR machine; biohazard cabinets used for the extraction of the samples, and also if there is adequately trained staff.

“You will have to satisfy the Ministry of Health technical personnel that you have the equipment, you have to know that you have the staff to be able to do this thing in the right way and once we are satisfied that you have that capability then you are licensed to be able to (offer PCR testing),” said Dr. Anthony. He also indicated that the ministry is willing to work with those facilities that have imported the equipment and are in the process of establishing themselves so that they can become compliant.

He, however, stressed that members of the public should only seek the PCR testing from approved facilities.

Director of the COVID-19 Task Force, Colonel Nazrul Hussain, during an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, highlighted that once private institutions have been granted the licence to offer PCR testing, they would have to report how many tests are being done and what those results are to the COVID-19 authorities.

The total number of tests done daily, as well as the total number of positive cases recorded, are put into a COVID-19 database and are disseminated daily by the Health Ministry.

“They have not started to provide that information which would tell us that no tests are being done,” he said. When informed that one unlicensed private medical institution was offering the PCR testing, he emphasised that compliance is necessary.

“It’s not that we’re looking to ‘catch’ them, but we want to ensure that they are properly regulated,” the Colonel said.