We Are Randox | Randox Rugby Team take to the pitch for inaugural match against Randalstown
We Are Randox | Randox Rugby Team take to the pitch for inaugural match against Randalstown
Our Randox Rugby team have been hard at work in training in advance of their first ever competitive match against Randalstown!
On Wednesday the team comprised of Cathal Kelly, Robin Walsh, Charlie Spon-Smith, David Craig, Johnny Acheson, Christopher Stevenson, Peter FitzGerald, Jack Hanna and Jason Webster, played their inaugural match against a Randalstown select team under the floodlights of Randox’s rugby pitch in Crumlin.
Heavy rain in the days leading up to game-night threatened to postpone the match but the rain held off and in mild conditions with little wind, it provided the perfect night for running rugby, and the match didn’t disappoint!
Months of hard work had prepared the young Randox team for the match against the more experienced Randalstown team. With training and exercise drills weekly, the men from Randox had been put through their paces and were ready for some competitive rugby!
Jason Webster, Randox Health Sales Manager, who plays for our Randox Rugby Team, commented;
“The Randox men more than held their own in what was an open, end-to-end game. Right up until the last minute the win could have gone to either team – it was a nail-biting match!”
The Randalstown team showed their rugby skill and rugby know-how with excellent ball retention in the first half of the rugby mach. They earned hard yards with their big forwards punching holes around the tackle area, which resulted in an early lead, but the speed and individual ability of our Randox players produced some mouth-watering tries of their own!
The final score of the match was an unbelievably close 37-39 to Randalstown.
What an incredible score for our team’s first match against a rugby club team! Our Randox rugby players gave the Randalstown boys a good run for their money, and had great fun while doing so!
Jason continued;
“The camaraderie between all the men from both Randox and Randalstown was fantastic and it was great to see such great sportsmanship from both teams. We hope to have another game against Randalstown in the coming weeks – bring your A-game Randalstown!”
Spectators at the match included Dr. Peter FitzGerald, Nuailin FitzGerald, supporting members of staff from Randox and a contingent of staff and players from Randalstown RFC.
Thank you to everyone who turned out to support our Randox Rugby team and of course to the Randalstown players for a great game!
For more information about our Randox Rugby Team contact Jason Webster via email: Jason.webster@randoxhealth.com
Make sure to follow Randox on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay up-to-date with the hashtag #WeAreRandox for more stories about the amazing team we have here!
World Antibiotic Awareness Week at Randox
The global crisis of antimicrobial resistance is never far from the headlines. As part of World Amicrobial Awareness Week, we’ve been discussing the dangers and importantly the work being done to combat this growing threat.
There’s a very simple reason why we must all do what we can to tackle AMR. This year it’s thought 700,000 people died from drug resistant illnesses such as bacterial infections, malaria, HIV/Aids or tuberculosis. Experts warn that by 2050, this figure will rise to 10million.
Randox’s aim is to revolutionise global healthcare and we are committed to combating the threat of antibiotic resistance. We have a number of tests on the market that can help the fight against AMR, strengthen consumer confidence and ensure quality and safety for a number of different industries. So to round off this week, we spoke to two of our experts at Randox: Business Development Manager, Dr Mary Jo Kurth, and Molecular Diagnostics Manager, Dr Martin Crockard.
70% GP’s have been reported to prescribe antibiotics when they don’t know whether the infection is caused by the virus or bacteria.
At the frontline of the battle to curb AMR are the GPs but they’re not able to access the latest technology which can help them. Dr Mary Jo Kurth said, “In the current GP setting, diagnostic testing to determine whether a respiratory infection is bacterial or viral is unavailable, and therefore doctors often have to guess – or feel pressurised into prescribing antibiotics because patients demand it. However antibiotics only work to treat bacterial infections and are useless in treating infections that are caused by viruses.
“The consequences are severe. Medical procedures like organ transplantation and cancer chemotherapy need antibiotics to prevent and treat the bacterial infections that can be caused by the treatment. Without effective antibiotics, even routine operations could become high risk procedures if serious infections can’t be treated. The hard won victories against infectious diseases of the last fifty years will be jeopardized.”
Our Biosciences division have developed a test that can rapidly detect and identify the cause of 22 respiratory infections, in both the upper and lower respiratory tract, and therefore subsequently determine if an antibiotic is required as well as then identify the most effective antibiotic to take. Additionally our Confidante kit – the world’s first over-the-counter home sexual health test – can detect ten of the most common STIs with one patient sample and deliver accurate and reliable results securely and discreetly within one week. This takes the guesswork out of antibiotic prescription and could go a long way in fighting the antibiotic resistance crisis.
Dr Martin Crockard said, “Identifying the specific cause of illnesses provides opportunities to tailor treatment, reducing antibiotic misuse. Not all infections respond to antibiotics, however a multiplex approach which identifies bacterial, viral or fungal pathogens encourages improved clinical decision-making, refining treatment, leading to enhanced patient care.
“The molecular group here at Randox are developing a range of multiplex infection detection arrays to identify specific infection agents, allowing more appropriate use of antibiotics to improve patient care and reduce the onset of antibiotic resistance.”
In addition to tackling AMR via medical settings, there is work that can be done to deal with it in our food. Randox Food Diagnostics offer a comprehensive range of diagnostic solutions to allow for the detection and quantification of antibiotic residues within animal and food products. With validation across a range of matrices Randox Food allows producers to ensure their products are free from antibiotic residues.
As consumer awareness develops so does the need for antibiotic screening within agriculture and food production. Guaranteeing an antibiotic-free product strengthens consumer confidence and ensures food integrity on a global scale. Randox Food offers the Evidence Investigator matched with biochip array technology to provide the end user with fast, reliable results to ensure antibiotic free produce.
The UK Government recently commissioned a two year review into the crisis. Led by Lord Jim O’Neill, the final report outlined a new system of ‘market entry rewards’ worth $1.6 billion to the successful developer of a new antibiotic, which meets a prospectively-defined criteria of ‘unmet need’. Developers of alternative therapies aimed at tackling areas where there is unmet need due to rising AMR would also be eligible for these rewards. Such rewards would be paid after a successful product comes to market.
Chief Medical Officer, Dame Sally Davies said, “Antimicrobial resistance poses a catastrophic threat. If we don’t act now, any one of us could go into hospital in 20 years for minor surgery and die because of an ordinary infection that can’t be treated by antibiotics. That’s why governments and organisations across the world, including the World Health Organization and G8, need to take this seriously.
“This is not just about government action. We need to encourage more innovation in the development of antibiotics – over the past two decades there has been a discovery void around antibiotics, meaning diseases have evolved faster than the drugs to treat them.”
AMR will not go away on its own. It requires complex and comprehensive action across many sectors.
If you are interested in finding out more information, please visit randox.com
ISO 22870- Are you meeting expectations?
Quality control has recently become crucial in the Point-of-Care (POC) field due to the introduction of ISO 22870 regulations and increased focus in patient safety. Quality control is critical in reducing turnaround time and saving money.
There is now an international standard specifically for POC testing, ISO 22870. This standard is intended to be used in conjunction with the standard for medical laboratories, ISO 15189. This means that aspects relating to Point-of-Care such as training, competence and documentation should be carefully planned, implemented and governed by a quality management system and there is a requirement for QC and EQA to be performed, where available.
POCT is typically carried out by non-laboratory staff, therefore when selecting the appropriate IQC material for POCT there are a number of key characteristics you must consider;
- Format of the material – QC material employed should be liquid stable, requiring no preparation, reducing the likelihood of human error and increasing convenience.
- Value assignment – all values must be accurately assigned. Look out for suppliers who use a large number of independent labs to determine the target value.
- Third party controls – manufactured independently from any specific instrument or method third party controls are designed to deliver unbiased performance assessment.
- Storage – for convenience controls should be liquid stable, as these can be easily stored in a fridge at 2oC – 8oC and won’t need to be shipped on dry ice.
- Stability – a control with a good open vial stability will mean that it can be used for longer with less waste produced, meaning it is more convenient for the medical professional to use.
- Transportation– the liquid stable controls can be conveniently stored at 2oC – 8oC reducing the need to ship on dry ice
- Minimal training– easy to use with little training required, therefore suitable for use by non-laboratory personnel
In addition to IQC, External Quality Assessment (EQA) must also be employed to ensure a comprehensive review of test system performance. It is best to select a programme that offers frequent reporting with a large database of users. This will enable rapid error identification and ultimately accurate and reliable patient testing.
Our Acusera liquid ready-to-use controls include:
- Blood Gas Control– A liquid stable control provided in easy to open ampoules for added convenience and ease-of-use. Assayed, method specific target values are provided for the most common blood gas instruments.
- Liquid Cardiac Control– This is a highly convenient liquid stable cardiac control offering excellent consistency. Assayed, instrument specific target values are provided for 8 cardiac markers, enabling flexibility and consolidation.
- Liquid Urinalysis Control– Liquid control that is compatible for use with both manual and automated methods of dipstick analysis. Available in convenient 12ml vials or 25ml dropper bottles with assayed ranges provided for 13 parameters covering the chemical examination of urine specimens.
- Liquid HbA1c Control– This is another highly convenient liquid ready-to-use control. With an open vial stability of 30 days, keeping waste and costs to a minimum.
Complementary EQA programmes are also available to meet the needs of ISO 22870.
