Samling Resources donates medical equipment
MIRI: Tudan Health Clinic can enhance its Covid-19 testing capability soon with its gift of Biological Safety Cabinet (BSC) Class 2 equipment from Samling Resources Sdn Bhd.
Another clinic which received a similar gift was Miri Health Clinic.
One unit of the equipment cost RM35,000, disclosed Transport Minister Datuk Lee Kim Shin on Thursday.
He was met at Tudan Health Clinic after a brief visit to its lab where the BCS Class 2 would be installed. He was accompanied by Samling’s representatives.
BSC Class 2 has been the crucial element in performing the antigen rapid swab test (RTK-Ag).
“Miri Division Disaster Management Committee (DDMC) would like to thank Samling Resources Sdn Bhd for its donations of the two units of BSC Type 2 to Tudan Health Clinic and Miri Health Clinic,” said Lee.
Samling has also donated various medical equipment and food to the needy affected by the movement control following the Covid-19 pandemic.
In May this year, Ministry of Health (MoH) announced the approved use of antigen rapid test kits (RTK-Ag) from South Korea to help boost Malaysia’s capacity to detect Covid-19. MoH’s facilities in West Malaysia started using RTK-Ag since May 2020.
The RTK-Ag uses the swab technique which requires fully trained healthcare personnel using full protective equipment (PPE) during the sample collection procedure.
Once the swab sample is collected, the RTK Antigen test should be conducted in the Biological Safety Cabinet (BSC) Class 2 as there is a high risk of spilling the specimen during the test kit usage procedure.
“The laboratories in the newer health clinics in Malaysia are equipped with BSC Class 2,” explained Lee.
However, older clinics like the Tudan Health Clinic and Miri Health Clinic are only equipped with BSC Class 1.
“DDMC were briefed on the lack of BSC Type 2 in these urban based clinics and their inability to perform the Covid-19 test,” he said.
