DR JULIUS: “Public Should Be Critical Of Choice Of Laboratory Service Providers”
By Kyeyune Ali._
On Thursday 8th, November 2022 at Lubaga Hospital, laboratory scientists celebrated being accredited laboratories in Uganda by the South Africa National Accreditation System (SANAS).
Executive Director of Lubaga Hospital, Dr. Luyiimbazi Julius, said that their laboratory was accredited to carry out a total of thirty four (34) tests in all categories of hematology, microbiology, clinical chemistry, immunology and parasitology.
This therefore means that in a year, Lubaga Hospital can carry out over 490,726 laboratory tests.
The benefit of any accredited laboratory in Uganda is that it promotes timely and accurate diagnosis and treatment, as well as the fact that it fosters a culture of quality and safety in the hospital.
Since most Ugandans lost confidence in some doctors, at least this will restore the good image for doctors because to being accredited in SANAS, you must undergo all procedures and meet all the requirements.
As part of the requirements, the laboratory must meet the minimum standards set according to international quality criteria such as equipment, and all accredited laboratories in the world should be able to produce the same results for the same sample every time and all the time without variation.
The Ministry of Health (MoH), in the celebrations, were represented by the commissioner, Dr. Susan Nabbada, and she said that in Uganda, only fifty three (53) laboratories are accredited, which now includes Lubaga Hospital, and as the MoH, by 2030, they have a target of one hundred and fifty two (152) accredited laboratories in Uganda.
The government of Uganda, through the MoH, is set to offer more support to accelerate the accreditation of as many public and private laboratories as possible, and also the general uplifting of laboratory standards in Uganda.
Dr. Susan Nabbada also added that other hospital laboratories should enlist for international quality accreditation.