Ehanire kicks off MLSCN nationwide inspection as Tambuwal rallies support

Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, has flagged off the nationwide inspection of medical laboratories by the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN).

Ehanire at the event held at the Sokoto Specialist Hospital, Sokoto State, stressed the importance of medical laboratory inspection as a very important quality management measure and one of the statutory functions as a regulatory entity.

According to him, the inspection exercise, which is fully supported by the Ministry, is also essential to ensuring that test results coming from medical laboratories in the country are accurate, reliable, reproducible and timely.

“Therefore, MLSCN’s mandate is to ensure that medical laboratories offering services to Nigerians attain and maintain global best practices,” he said.

While noting that the essence of the Protocol for the Inspection of Medical Laboratories, which has been approved by the Federal Ministry of Health, is to ensure that stakeholders and practitioners of Medical Laboratory Science alike, know what is expected of them and what is expected of MLSCN, the Minister of State added that the “rules of engagement should be uniform, unequivocal, detailed and well publicised.”

Ehanire reiterated the advice of the Ministry to tertiary institutions in the country, to commence the process of accreditation of their laboratory facilities as soon as possible, as the Federal Government desired to start raising the quality of laboratory services, and other service areas in the health sector, to the highest internationally acceptable level. “If laboratory facilities are doing the right thing in entrenching the right policies regarding processes, procedures and personnel, and also ensuring that equipment is up to standard, then they should be willing to work with MLSCN towards their accreditation and participation in the External Quality Assessment programmes (EQA).”

Meanwhile, while speaking at the event, the Sokoto State Governor, Rt Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal also canvassed support for the Council in carrying out its statutory functions with a view to sanitizing medical laboratory services sector. The Governor, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Bashiru Garba, noted the vital roles played by medical laboratory scientists and technicians, including investigation of causative agents of diseases or conditions associated with patients.

The Governor, while describing medical laboratory services as the backbone of standard health system, pledged the commitment of the State Government towards transforming medical laboratories to meet National and International standards.

He, therefore, assured Council’s medical laboratory inspectors of the support of the State Government to enable them carry out their national assignment effectively even as he also urged stakeholders to rally round them. “The outcomes of this inspection will surely shade more light and indicate grey areas for us to modify the current state of our medical laboratories, holistically,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Acting Registrar/Chief Executive Organisation (CEO), MLSCN, Tosan Erhabor, has also assured that the Council would not waver in the fight to eliminate quackery even though the task may be daunting due to the desperate and self-serving nature of the quacks.

Erhabor, while speaking at the event, solicited the support and cooperation of the stakeholders to ensure the success of the nationwide inspection to enable Council to sanitize the medical laboratory services sector. According to him, the Accreditation and External Quality Assessment programmes of the Council were set up to upscale medical laboratory services in the interest of the entire citizenry.