GMLD tasks members on regulatory requirements

GMLD tasks members with regulatory requirements

The Guild of Medical Laboratory Directors of Nigeria (GMLD), Lagos State Branch, has urged its members to transform their practices to the level of accreditation and obtain International Standard Organisation (ISO) certification, as it will prepare them for the challenges of the near future.

The Guild stated this at the 9th Scientific Conference and Yearly General Conference (AGM) of the GMLD, held at The Sickle Cell Centre Idi-Araba, Lagos with the theme, ‘Medical Laboratory Practice in the 21st Century: Transformation to Accreditation.’

The Chairman, GMLD Conference Planning Committee, Akujuobi C. Igwe, said the conference was aimed to interrogate topical issues in the laboratory private sector, reviewing the state of their practice in the state, network and taking the much-needed rest from the rigours of private medical laboratory practice.

“This year’s keynote theme reflects one of GMLD’s priority goals. The increasing gap in progress between the small and big laboratories continues to grow and threatens to undermine our gains as a group of people over the years. The sub-themes examine the opportunities in states’ health insurance schemes, profitable and professional laboratory management, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) productivity tools, and business financing, mergers and acquisitions, amongst others,” he said.

Director and Deputy Registrar, MLSCN Accreditation Service Abuja, Dr. Donald Ofili, said the organisation is promoting and embracing accreditation and its member must demonstrate technical competence so that the results they generate are reliable, can be used for patient management, clinical decision making and policy making.

Ofili also said the organisation has made progress in recent times owing to the regulations from MLSCN. He said: “Before a lab gets registered in Nigeria, it must pass through requirements we have in our document, one in particular called ‘guideline for setting up the medical laboratory.’ Until you meet all those guidelines your lab cannot be registered. So, we have made progress as a nation.”

Ofili said for accreditation to become compulsory in the country, there has to be a policy shift from the government and once that directive comes through, the organisation will swing into action. “The only thing that is compulsory right now is to have your laboratory registered. But in no distant time, accreditation will become compulsory in Nigeria,” he said.

The Chairman, GMLD Lagos branch, Adekoya Abimbola Julius said the organisation is repositioning itself to prepare for the challenges of the near future.

Julius also encouraged their members to step up to meet with the new innovations and technologies that are taking the centre stage in the medical laboratory profession.

“It is not impossible to reach the peak if we dare dream of it. We know there is a prize to pay to achieve this peak, amongst them, education and enlightenment are fundamental,” he said.

The chairman said they needed to transform their practices to the level of accreditation.

Julius also appealed to the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) and Health Facilities Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) to go out for monitoring and inspection with the aim of encouraging their members to improve on the standard required to practice and not for revenue generation.

National President, GMLD, Dr. Elochukwu Adibo, said accreditation is a word in the laboratory family that sometimes many people do not like to hear, because of poor conformity.

Adibo said clinicians depend on results, data and reports from laboratories to make decisions, which are evidence-based. “So in the private sector, we are responsible for about 70 percent of Nigerians’ health care, that is why what happens in private laboratories in Nigeria is key in determining the level of service Nigerians get in terms of their health,” he said.

Adibo further explained: “Accreditation is important because if you go out to countries like United Arab Emirate (UAE), the entry point to set up a laboratory is that you must be accredited to ISO-15189 2012 Standard and that is basic; they do not want any errors or gaps. So, from day one, you have to come to the best level. The moment we start doing that as a culture in Nigeria, then we will gradually get to where we should be as a nation.”