Mumbai: Kasturba’s PCR lab to undergo repairs, services to continue

Kasturba Hospital. File pic

The PCR lab at Kasturba Hospital will undergo minor repairs over the next three months, but services will remain unaffected. During the initial days of the COVID-19 pandemic, this lab was the city's first and only one to test samples from all hospitals.

A tender was floated this month to the tune of Rs 40 lakh and the repair work largely involves refurbishment, electrification, and allied work for the lab's use in the hospital. Hospital officials stated that the work primarily focuses on repairing, renewing, or adding new furniture for the lab's use in maintaining records and other documents.

"There will also be repair works for the reception area, where some furniture, like the desk, has been in use for the last 15 years," said a hospital official. Since its set up in 2007 at Kasturba Hospital, the lab has been instrumental in public health efforts, notably during the H1N1 outbreak in 2009. The official added that necessary steps would be taken to ensure patients are not inconvenienced by the repair works. Dr Chandrakant Pawar, the medical superintendent of the hospital, said, "It is my responsibility to ensure that all patient services and lab work run smoothly during this period."

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences will soon set up a research wing dedicated to infectious diseases at Kasturba Hospital. This research wing, aiming to better prepare for challenges posed by infectious diseases like COVID-19, will be headed by the recently retired head of the PCR lab, Dr Jayanthi Shastri.

2007
Year the lab was set up at Kasturba hospital