NAN-HG-1
Laboratories
By Vivian Ihechu
Lagos, June 23, 2017(NAN) The Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) says the quality of medical laboratory services should be improved on to strengthen healthcare delivery services.
Alhaji Toyosi Raheem, the National President of the association told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Friday, that the quality of laboratory results depended on quality of services rendered.
He said that this could impact positively on diagnosis of health conditions and would consolidate the quality of healthcare services.
Raheem spoke on the sidelines of the 2017 Symposium of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) Lagos, chapter.
“The quality of a clinical establishment depends on the competences and qualities of its medical laboratories.
“If you have a giant hospital with a deficient laboratory, that hospital will be performing below optimal expectation.
“When the quality of laboratory is enhanced, it facilitates quality diagnosis of patients, whether people that are sick or those out to check their health status.
“So, once you have a very good laboratory in a health institution, the quality of service of such institutions will be outstanding,’’ he said.
According to him, the essence of the gathering is for laboratory scientists to look at all the procedures and processes needed to ensure that the qualities of laboratory results are improved upon.
Mrs Maureen Aniedobe, the Chairperson of the association, said a major aim of the gathering was to update themselves academically and to deliberate on the present happenings in the industry.
“We also have to reposition ourselves to play our roles as laboratories scientists; there are certain decisions to be taken,’’ she said.
According to Aniedobe, the association is also seeking accreditation and funding.
“Funding has been an issue for accreditation and that is why funding is the theme of today’s programme.
“To attain this accreditation feat, funding is required because quality is expensive; AMLSN, NIMR chapter has a five-star status but what remains is the accreditation.
“There is need to eradicate misdiagnosis and once laboratories get accredited, the margin of error is reduced.
“The minimal margin of error that can be accepted in medical laboratory is one per cent; some people even say it should be zero per cent.
“So, when you do not have those internationally required processes in place, when errors occur, they can go undetected and the effects are grave,’’ she said.
Aniedobe said there were benefits to getting accreditation as international accreditation meant that in any part of the country or outside the country where the result was generated and presented, it would be accepted.
“This is because there are requirements, audit assessments and conditions to be fulfilled before getting accredited.
“With the accreditation also doors are open; organisations like the WHO will want to collaborate with you because it shows that you are competent,’’ she said.
Aniedo called on the Federal Government, NGOs and corporate bodies to partner with laboratories.
Earlier, Prof. Monday Useh, a professor of medical parasitology, said that an efficient and operational Total Quality Management (TQM) was the way to obtain accreditation.
Useh, who is in the Department of Medical Laboratory Science, University of Calabar, Cross-River, said that the training processes involved in becoming a medical laboratory scientist sufficiently prepared them to practice ethically.
He urged practitioners to put in practice an efficient TQM with emphasis on Standard Operating Procedures to generate results which are reliable, accurate, reproducible and cost-effective.
The theme is of the symposium is: “Funding for Accreditation Process in Medical Diagnostic and Research Laboratories in Nigeria’’. (NAN)
VIV/GY
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Edited by Grace Yussuf