For Immediate Release:
September 24, 2020
LONDON, Ontario – The Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PaLM) COVID-19 testing laboratory at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is experiencing an unexpected and critical downtime of testing instruments required to process COVID-19 testing.
As a result, microbiologists are prioritizing acute care hospital in-patient specimens and those where there is an active outbreak. Specimens from the COVID-19 Assessment Centres are still being completed with results expected above 24 hours from the time of specimen receipt.
The PaLM COVID-19 laboratory is currently testing approximately 1,500 specimens per day, less than half our normal potential capacity.
COVID-19 testing is an important part of keeping our community safe and we are working diligently to restore these testing instruments and anticipate a resolution soon. We will update the community as soon as the issue is resolved.
PaLM is a joint venture of LHSC and St. Joseph’s Health Care London. The labs provide a comprehensive range of routine and specialized testing and clinical consultation for patient care within southwestern Ontario and beyond.
About London Health Sciences Centre
London Health Sciences Centre has been at the forefront of medicine in Canada for 145 years and offers the broadest range of specialized clinical services in Ontario. Building on the traditions of its founding hospitals to provide compassionate care in an academic teaching setting, London Health Sciences Centre is home to Children’s Hospital, University Hospital, Victoria Hospital, the Kidney Care Centre, two family medical centres, and two research institutes – Children’s Health Research Institute and Lawson Health Research Institute. As a leader in medical discovery and health research, London Health Sciences Centre has a history of over 70 international and national firsts and attracts top clinicians and researchers from around the world. As a regional referral centre, London Health Sciences Centre cares for the most medically complex patients including critically injured adults and children in southwestern Ontario and beyond. The hospital’s nearly 15,000 staff, physicians, students and volunteers provide care for more than one million patient visits a year. For more information visit www.lhsc.on.ca
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