Fed up with Dhanbad delays, BGH ties up with Bengal hosp for results

Bokaro: Irked by the delays in arrival of Covid-19 test reports from Patliputra Medical College & Hospital (PMCH), Dhanbad, officials at Bokaro General Hospital ( BGH ) are in the process of entering a partnership with Shri Ramakrishna Institute of Medical Sciences and Sanaka Hospital (SRIMSSH), Durgapur (West Bengal) to conduct tests of samples collected in the district, officials said on Monday.

As of Monday afternoon, Bokaro has recorded 120 Covid cases. Of these, 73 are active, 45 have recovered and two have died. BGH alone has 47 active patients and nine suspected cases at its Covid ward. Reports of about 1,600 samples from Bokaro are pending, delaying the discharge of several patients, officials added.

A BGH official said, “The two SAIL units -- Durgapur Steel Plant (DSP) and Burnpur Steel Plant (IISCO) -- have already tied up with SRIMSSH for Covid-19 tests of its employees. BGH is also in the final stages of closing the deal. SRIMSSH has asked us to transport the swab samples to them and assured us it will deliver the reports within 48 hours.”

He added that SRIMSSH will provide Viral Transport Medium (VTM) kits to BGH for safe transport of samples. About the costs, he added that SRIMSSH will charge Rs 2,200 for each test from BGH. “We find the proposal viable as it will help us get the reports quickly and the rate is also competitive in comparison to private labs,” said the official.

BSL’s chief of communication, Manikant Dhan said, “Efforts are on to explore possibilities of quicker reports of samples, but things are still to be fully finalised.”