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Minister tasks medical laboratory science council on standards

By Nkechi Onyedika-Ugoeze, Abuja
15 June 2017   |   4:02 am
Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, has urged the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) to pursue the ideal of improved standards in all aspects of medical laboratory eco system, in focusing on structure and associated construction industry.

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Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, has urged the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) to pursue the ideal of improved standards in all aspects of medical laboratory eco system, in focusing on structure and associated construction industry.

Speaking at the 2017 World Accreditation Day in Abuja, the minister observed that accreditation supports standardization in any industry including medical laboratory services or construction generally, and particularly construction of laboratories by providing assurance regarding safety of the workforce, equality and stability of relevant products or even facility design.

He stressed the need to regulate the technical competence, the integrity and impartiality of organizations providing conformity assessment services such as testing, calibration, certification and inspection, based on accepted international standards.

Ehanire said it is imperative for Nigeria to begin to benchmark global standards in her policies, processes and procedures for the good of the country and her citizens.

He said, “Accreditation bodies are established in most countries to ensure that conformity assessment bodies are themselves subject to oversight by another competent body. We therefore laud the MLSCN for recently granting accreditation to three deserving medical laboratories in Nigeria, after they have met all other requirements.

Ehanire noted that the Federal Ministry of Health should sustain support for the Medical Laboratory Science of Nigeria in fulfilling its statutory mandate and also continue to encourage all medical laboratory facilities especially at tertiary level to aspire to catch up with our trail blazing facilities by working towards their own accreditation,

In his speech, the Acting Registrar of the council, Mr. Tosan Erhabor, said that the theme of this year’s celebration “Accreditation: Delivering Confidence in Construction and the built environment” focuses on how accreditation can support professionals in the construction industry and also offers an opportunity to look deeper into the critical issues that relate to qualitative service delivery particularly in medical laboratory facilities.

He called on public and private medical laboratories to embrace accreditation as a means of demonstrating their technical competence.

Erhabor noted that MLSCN is poised to fulfill its statutory mandate in support of the federal government’s policy of diversification of the economy through infrastructural and human capital development in the health sector adding that this will ultimately discourage health tourism and also reverse the current trend of Nigerians seeking medical help oversees with its attendant drain on our foreign exchange reserve.

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