Thee Department of Microbiology of the General Hospital Tesanj has a laboratory for molecular diagnostics, which has been certified for testing on COVID-19 since 18 May. It performs 24 tests a day. The tests are recognized in Europe and the USA.
“On April 14 this year, the General Hospital Tesanj sent a request to the Federal Ministry of Health to perform detection on COVID-19. On May 18, the relevant ministry issued a decision for the verification of the coronavirus testing laboratory “, points out the director of the General Hospital Tešanj, Hasan Skiljo.
He said they had to re-prepare the department, invest in space, but also buy additional equipment.
“We started from construction works, special ventilation for this laboratory. However, we did it all in about 20 days “, says Kadrija Abduzaimovic, Head of the Molecular Laboratory Department.
A hundred commercial tests were then purchased to test the equipment, and then 1,000 tests were borrowed from the Zenica Cantonal Hospital.
The tests that were given to the Zenica-Doboj Canton for use were redirected only to the Zenica Cantonal Hospital, nothing was given to the Tesanj General Hospital, adds Abduzaimović.
“We have signed a loan agreement with the Cantonal Hospital Zenica, which requires us to return a thousand tests to the Cantonal Hospital Zenica during the distribution of tests from the federal level, in which the General Hospital Tesanj should receive 3,000 tests, but the distribution has never taken place,” doctor added.
Currently, Tešanj General Hospital has tests that will be enough by the end of the week. “We have about 50 more tests, and today there are 30 patients in our ward, ”says Skiljo.