There were days when laboratory diagnosticians tested over 100. samples of people who may have been infected with the coronavirus. They had plenty of work to do during the pandemic. The problem was that it was primarily associated with COVID-19. “This year has ravaged the health of society” admits Alina Niewiadomska, president of the National Council of Laboratory Diagnosticians.
- The Polish National Health Test 2021 showed that last year we stopped performing basic tests such as morphology or urine testing. The effects are visible now, and it will get worse
- Read the first part of the interview on the work of a laboratory diagnostician in Poland
- On May 27, we celebrate the Day of the Laboratory Diagnostician
- More information can be found on the Onet homepage.
Agnieszka Mazur-Puchała, Medonet: What was the work of a laboratory diagnostician like when the pandemic began in Poland?
Alina Niewiadomska, president of the National Council of Laboratory Diagnosticians: It was this time that showed our place in the system the most. The pandemic started overnight, an epidemic threat was announced across the country. And laboratories, by the way, were not ready for the number of tests that began to flow to them. In the first phase, tests for COVID-19 were carried out by the sanitary service laboratories, but it quickly turned out that there were simply not enough of them. Here, the key role was played by diagnosticians from medical laboratories who immediately implemented virus determination methods. They also very quickly started to create covid laboratories, which are now 314. In no time, they managed to create so many well-equipped laboratories and secure staff. There were diagnoses from various types of laboratories, genetics and microbiology departments.
These were the diagnosticians who did not know what time they would leave work, because it was not known how many samples they would get for testing. Sometimes there were even more than 100. one day, and we managed to test them anyway. The diagnosticians in the pandemic have proved their worth and deserve a huge thank you, but applause is not enough.
A lot of tests have been done, but a gap has been created in terms of conservative diagnostics. We learned from the National Health Test of Poles 2021 that the number of number of blood counts performed …
It definitely was. The number of surveys in the first and second quarter of 2020 decreased drastically. It was very noticeable. And it resulted from many reasons – first of all, the number of patients in hospitals or clinics decreased, so there were also fewer medical procedures. But we, as a society, also stopped researching ourselves, we gave up on prophylaxis. Poles were afraid that it was particularly dangerous in a medical facility that one could get infected there. And that’s not true, and it wasn’t then either.
The number of tests has decreased, but the health condition of Poles has also deteriorated significantly. This is a year of neglect when it comes to recognizing diseases. These changes are already visible, and they will be even more visible. This is the case in oncology, but also, for example, with physiotherapy, where physiotherapists already know that convalescents will have specific health problems. The same will also be true of laboratory tests in people who have contracted COVID-19.
It is very good that a preventive program for people over 40 is underway. This research panel is well designed and it is a valuable initiative. But as with other such programs, such as mammography and colonoscopy, the problem is convincing the public to apply for testing. This year has devastated the health of the society, it is now necessary to make up for it and persuade Poles to apply for tests.
The pandemic seems to be slowing down. Is it already visible in laboratories? Poles began to test themselves again? Do we still hide in our houses?
We are still not back to the pre-pandemic state. But we can see that the research situation is slightly improving. This isolation has made it mentally difficult for us to get back to what it was, but I think vaccinations will bring things back to normal. We are as safe as possible in our collection points and medical diagnostic laboratories. And this is where we should go now for the sake of our health. Next to the password # szczecimysię at the moment, # badamysię is the key.
Also read:
- 12 things we learned from the Polish National Health Test 2021
- Oncologists are on the brink: an incredible wave of tumors, people are begging for help
- Is it worth checking if I have antibodies after being vaccinated against COVID-19? The expert explains
- COVID-19 is just the beginning? Will virology be the science of the XNUMXst century?
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