5 dist hosps start using Truenat machines for Covid-19 test

Ranchi: State health secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni on Thursday said the government’s decision to install Truenat machines at district hospitals has come to the aid of pregnant women as well as those needing emergency medical attention.

Talking to TOI, Kulkarni said: “More than 100 patients received emergency medical care after their samples were tested by Truenat machines for Covid-19 infection.”

He added, “District hospitals in Ranchi, Garhwa, Giridih, Dumka and Sahebganj have already started conducting such tests and 10 others have also received the machines.”

Health department sources said the state government has placed an order for 30 machines. The Centre is also providing 22 Truenat machines, which will be distributed among different state-run hospitals.

“Health workers in Palamu, Latehar, Hazaribag, Koderma, Chatra, Bokaro, Deoghar, Godda and Pakur have completed training on handling samples and conducting tests with the help of Truenat machines,” said a senior official from state IDSP cell.

Truenat is a battery-operated machine that can test two samples simultaneously and provide results between 60-90 minutes.

Health professionals in the state, too, welcomed the decision of installing testing machines and said that it will help in protecting healthcare workers and patients from getting infected. “Truenat machines will reduce the dependence on RT-PCR tests and will help ease the load of testing centres,” said Dr Ashok Kumar, an assistant professor at the microbiology department of Rims.