Employees from the HUCA microbiology laboratory during the covid pandemic (2022). From left to right Fernando Vázquez, Santiago Melón, Carmen González, Marisa Sánchez (Deputy Director of Basic Services, front), Adrián Coto (background), Zulema Pérez, Rainer Campo, Christian Castelló (almost covered), Virginia Linares, Marta E Álvarez, Cristina Suárez, Graciela Peón, Cristina Arce, Isabel Costales, Carmen Carrio, Maite Fernández, Mercedes Rodríguez (back), Ana. Isabel Fidalgo, José Antonio Boga, Reyes Carvajal, Gabriel Martínez and crouching Estela García, María José Ferrero and Ignacio Conde. / Fernando Rodríguez
Fernando Vazquez He is the head of the microbiology department at HUCA.
Santiago Melon He is the head of the virology section of HUCA
In these ten years of HUCA’s history, two crucial periods can be highlighted in the service of microbiology: before and during the covid-19 pandemic. In the first years, it was necessary to implement aspects such as IT or maintenance with the involvement of the central services of the hospital campus, which meant the start of the service in a new environment.
The arrival of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic shook the entire healthcare system and, of course, the laboratories as well. It was a turning point that tested the laboratory with its own development of diagnostic tests that allowed us to respond adequately to the brutal demand for cases in those years and to the workflows they generated (the need for continuous activity 24 hours a day). 7 days a week).
In this regard, the laboratory had the necessary technology to perform appropriate diagnoses and follow-up without having to depend on, and in many cases anticipate, commercial systems and reagents. Diagnoses could be made in an average of 6 hours and in 24 hours for more than 97 percent of samples (even in periods of 5,000 samples per day). At that time, a culture of teamwork with other hospital services had developed, which would take too much time to enumerate in these few lines.
It is a pride to work in a hospital that is a reference in many areas of health
All this work was possible thanks to the involvement of all laboratory staff, the unconditional support of the management team and the ability to adapt in all phases of the pandemic. We must also highlight the work of other control laboratories that were involved in the pandemic, as well as the Microbiological Service.
Since the pandemic and in recent years, we have been increasing molecular diagnostic tests against new infections (multidrug-resistant pathogens and the program to optimize the use of antimicrobial agents-PROA, fungal infections, monkeypox, the increase in sexually transmitted infections, emerging pathogens …) that represent a future challenge and they are preparing us for new pandemics that may once again burden health systems.
There is no doubt that our hospital currently has the best and latest technology as well as the knowledge that allows us to stay ahead of all these challenges. Furthermore, it allowed us to shorten the diagnosis times of infectious diseases and, on the other hand, to increase their reliability through more accurate diagnoses in the field of infections, an increasingly complex world.
We are proud to work in a hospital like HUCA, which has been able to position itself as a reference in many areas of health. For our part, we continue with the same enthusiasm and responsibility to provide the best possible service to our patients and physicians who request this battery of tests from us, and as stated, with the best possible technology.
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