The GCC’s largest laboratory operator has successfully established an on-site lab at one of the UAE’s biggest field hospitals in just 48 hours.

Pure Health – which manages an estimated 115 laboratories in the country – set up the fully functional field lab at the temporary government hospital at Sharjah Expo Center. Field hospitals are being created across the various emirates as part of the country’s fight against COVID-19, with the Sharjah Expo hospital adding more than 5,000 beds to nationwide capacity.

“We created these specialised field laboratories so that we can provide a more targeted approach with regards to screening, and testing,” said Samia Al Balooshi, area laboratory manager at Pure Health, who is leading lab operations at Sharjah Expo Center. “By having multiple mini laboratories, we can also shorten the time needed for reporting, the quicker we provide these results, the quicker actions can be taken by healthcare providers and authorities, which leads to saving lives and a better control of the disease spread.”

The Pure Health lab is fully connected to a web-based IT system, connecting the site with its wider healthcare network and making data easily accessible by all parties to ensure an efficient process, the company confirmed. A total of ten medical professionals are working at the field laboratory, which is running 24/7.

In April, it was confirmed that Pure Health signed an agreement with global healthcare information systems and technology provider, InterSystems to deploy its InterSystems TrakCare Lab Enterprise (TCLE). TCLE works by reading and collecting patient data, with minimal manual input, thereby accelerating the screening process. 

WHY IT MATTERS

Thanks to its comprehensive testing strategy, the UAE continues to detect new cases quickly, with a record high of 873 new cases registered on 19 May, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country to 25,063.

However, the country is also seeing an increase in recoveries, with the Ministry of Health and Prevention confirming 1,214 new full recoveries. This brings the total number to 10,791 so far.

So far, 227 individuals have lost their lives to the coronavirus.

ON THE RECORD

“This is an unprecedented time with a need for conducting a higher volume of tests. The medium-sized laboratory setup at the field hospital provides over 700 specialised tests including baseline hematology screening and blood works such as CBC [complete blood count], liver function enzyme, renal function, electrolytes, ferritin and CRP [C-reactive protein], ensuring a fast turnaround time for results to ensure better clinical response for patients,” Al Balooshi added. “The facility also provides the latest point-of-care testing [POCT] for arterial blood gas to monitor critical cases, and glucose POCT testing for diabetic cases that require regular monitoring of blood glucose levels.”