Medical personnel of the Benguet General Hospital who will be assigned at the soon to operate molecular laboratory are undergoing training to improve response against infectious diseases such as the Covid-19.
BeGH Chief of Hospital Meliarazon Dulay said six medical technologists of the hospital are undergoing online training. After which, they will undergo actual training at the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center, one of the country’s sub-national testing centers for Covid-19.
“There will be six staff members and we are hoping that medical technologists hired through contracts of service by the provincial government and Department of Health will be extended; they are an additional manpower in the laboratory,” Dulay said.
The molecular laboratory is currently being constructed within the BeGH compound and is expected to be operational by August or September this year.
Benguet caretaker Eric Yap has funded the construction of the P3 million-worth laboratory building from his personal funds.
Yap has also donated reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and automated extraction machines to the BeGH but is temporarily being used by the BGHMC pending construction of the provincial hospital’s molecular laboratory.
The machine helped boost the testing capacity of BGHMC, with 1,000 tests being conducted daily for swab samples taken from individuals from various regions in Northern Luzon.
As of now, Dulay said the other machines and equipment to be used for the molecular laboratory, as well as the testing kits and consumables are being acquired through Yap’s office as well as from the Department of Health.
Benguet Gov. Melchor Diclas said once the laboratory is set up, it would primarily cater to the people of Benguet and would also expand to other provinces as well. – Ofelia C. Empian
April 19, 2024
