The registrar of the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN), Sir Tosan Erhabor, has enjoined all medical laboratory practitioners to embrace accreditation as a means of demonstrating their technical competence.
He said with accreditation , MLSCN as the national regulator can vouch for the quality of services at the accredited facilities.
He stated this in Abuja during the presentation of certificate of National ISO 15189:2012 accreditation to Clina Lancet Laboratories, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Erhabor said all over the world, accreditation is seen as an enabler of quality and a core component of good clinical management, as it is patient–focused, impartial, objective and rigorous.
He said the council is making advocacy to the Federal Ministry of Health on the need for a deliberate policy that makes accreditation seemingly mandatory especially for federal teaching hospitals and federal medical centres.
He said this is in view of the urgent need to upscale medical laboratories for timely, accurate and reliable results for Nigerians and also to ensure the global acceptance of laboratory results from Nigeria.
The registrar said the presentation of the certificate of National ISO 15189:2012 accreditation to Clina Lancet Laboratories brings the number of medical laboratory facilities accredited by MLCN to 11.
He said this is in addition to nine facilities accredited by other accrediting bodies, thus bringing the total number of medical laboratories accredited in Nigeria to 20.
“Given that accreditation is the hallmark of quality – some sort of quality hall of fame – this is a significant accomplishment. Also, considering where we were a few years ago, having 20 accredited facilities seems commendable. But given MLSCN’s commitment towards benchmarking international best practices and also considering the patient: accredited facility ratio in the country, there is still so much to be done,” he added.
