Skip to main content

Medical laboratories in Plateau not equipped – expert

med-lab

med-lab

An expert, Mr Solomon Chollom, has disclosed that 90 per cent of the medical laboratories in Plateau were not equipped to play their role in the healthcare delivery chain.

Chollom, Chairman, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientist of Nigeria (AMLSN), National Veterinary Research Institute, Jos chapter, who spoke on Thursday in Jos, regretted that the development was “a major drawback to quality healthcare”.

His position was contained in a paper entitled: “Emerging and re-emerging infectious disease in Nigeria,’’ delivered at a public lecture organised in honour of late Raphael Shonekan, the first medical laboratory scientist of the institute.

He said that “only 10 per cent” of laboratories were well endowed while the rest, especially medical laboratories in local government health centres and cottage hospitals were “very under-equipped”.

Chollom described a medical laboratory as “the loud voice that speaks on health”.

“The laboratory remains the voice that speaks; without that voice, the medical laboratory scientist is handicapped and cannot determine what is wrong to help the physician to decide.

“The good laboratory must have the equipment that indicates what pathogen, parasites, virus or bacteria is responsible for an ailment and how such ailment can be tackled.

“The quality of a medical laboratory’s output depends on its input. The inputs are the samples, reagents and equipment. This greatly affects the quality of the lab’s result.

“If you bring samples to a lab that lacks the right equipment to work with, most often we do manual investigation and it delays the treatment hour.

“This affects the turnaround time for each procedure; in the course of that delay, so many things could happen to the sample.

“There are samples that need to be treated within 30 minutes while some require five minutes, depending on the pathogen one is looking for.

“If at the point of reception, some of the samples are already getting deteriorated, the integrity of the outcome of such investigation could be compromised,” he explained.

Chollom said that some equipment were particularly crucial to the 21st century medical laboratories, but lamented that such equipment were not available in most laboratories in the Plateau.

He called on governments and concerned stakeholders to equip medical laboratories in its primary, secondary and tertiary health institutions to boost the quality of healthcare facilities and personnel handling them.

“ With good laboratories and good handlers, we shall minimise medical tourism,” he said.

Chollom particularly stressed the need to upgrade medical laboratories in veterinary centres to help biosafety and contain highly contagious organisms.

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pope not involved in Colombian peace deal- Vatican

Pope Francis Pope Francis has turned down a request to play a role in the peace deal between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group. The Vatican in a statement issued on Wednesday in in Vatican City said that an invitation was sent to his Holiness in early August to appoint a representative to participate in the committee that selected the judges for the talks. The statement said that though Pope Francis supported the peace process, he, however, reiterated that he would not get involved in Colombian peace deal. It said that Pope was praying for the enlightenment of the hearts and minds of those who were called to promote the common good of the Colombian nation. A deal was announced last week, putting an end to five decades of internal conflict between government forces and the FARC rebels. The agreement, which needed to be ratified through a referendum in Oct. 2, would entail setting up a special court to grant amnesties or pu...
Post a Comment
Read more

Houthis Claim Attack on Central Israel in Response to Gaza ‘Massacres’

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has taken a concerning regional turn as the Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility for an attack on central Israel. The group announced this as part of their escalating response to what they describe as "massacres" in Gaza amid the Israeli military’s operations in the strip. Details of the Attack The Houthis, a Shiite militant group with ties to Iran, declared that they launched missile and drone strikes targeting Israel. While the exact impact of these attacks remains unclear, reports suggest that Israel’s defense systems intercepted several threats over its airspace. This marks a significant escalation as the Houthis widen their involvement in the conflict beyond their typical operations within Yemen and neighboring Saudi Arabia. The Houthis’ Justification In their statement, the Houthis framed the attack as retaliation for Israel’s military actions in Gaza, which they characterized as indiscriminate bombings resultin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fall of Assad is a Blow to Russia's Prestige

The potential fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a long-standing ally of Russia, would mark a turning point in Moscow’s global influence, particularly in the Middle East. Steve Rosenberg’s analysis underscores the profound implications for Russia, which has invested heavily—both militarily and politically—in ensuring Assad’s survival over the past decade. This article delves into why Assad’s downfall would strike at the core of Russian prestige and what it could mean for the broader geopolitical landscape. Russia's Strategic Commitment to Syria Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Russia has been a staunch supporter of Assad's regime. In 2015, Moscow launched a military intervention that proved decisive in stabilizing Assad’s hold on power. This intervention solidified Russia's role as a key power broker in the Middle East and demonstrated its willingness to project military power far beyond its borders. Syria is not just an ally for Russia; it is a...
Post a Comment
Read more