On our next stop in the hospital tour, we visit the laboratory team. On the left is Laboratory Manager John S. Koroma, who is responsible for managing and supervising the team, ordering and managing laboratory supplies, ensuring smooth operations and compliance with safety & medical standards. On the right is Mohamed Foray, our most senior lab technician, who assists John & acts as a mentor to the other lab technicians. Aminata Aruna in the middle is our newest lab technician, and absent today is lab technician John Koroma (also called small John to prevent confusion with the manager).
Together, the team is handling the collection of patient samples (blood, urine, stool, etc.), performing various laboratory tests, cross-checking results, and recording & issuing results in a timely & correct manner. They explain this can be quite a challenge, especially when the hospital is very busy or when they are short on supplies. ‘We feel the pressure to release the results quickly, but also have to make sure we carefully follow all procedures, especially when handling infectious samples, like HIV, Hepatitis and Tuberculosis’, explains manager John. Another major challenge is fixing equipment that has a breakdown, as both the technical knowledge & spare parts are hard to find.