Dr. Tosan Erhabor, Registrar/Chief Executive Officer, Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) has enrolled no fewer than 1,200 facilities under its Quality Assurance Programme.

Erhabor disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Abuja after the inauguration of the National Laboratory Equipment Calibration Centre in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Adeleke Mamora, had on Thursday, inaugurated the laboratory and received the certificate of accreditation for the council’s National External quality Assessment Laboratory (NEQAL)

The registrar told the journalists that the journey of establishing the National Laboratory Equipment Calibration Centre started 10 years ago.

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“It started 10 years ago but was taken away from our management for poor implementation but when I came in 2016 as the Acting Registrar, we worked assiduously with Centre for Disease Control (CDC).

“From then, it is now managed with the MLSCN based on my political will; it is working because my belief is that for us to achieve quality assurance, we must accredit more facilities.

“When I came in 2016 as the Acting Registrar; we had only 20 facilities into this programme, we have more than 1, 200 facilities now which is a big achievement for us

Earlier, in his speech, Erhabor said most of the facilities enrolled did not include facilities in the public hospitals.

“Now that we have an accredited facility in Nigeria, let them (health facilities) not talk of going abroad; we must encourage our own and we must build our capacity, let all of the keys to the vision,’’ he said.

He, however, appealed to the Federal Ministry of Health to assist MLSCN in advocacy to the Chief Executives of the various public health facilities on the essence of enrolling their facilities.

Erhabor said the public health facilities should enroll their facilities under the scheme for quality assurance of laboratory results.

“ It was also fitting that the National External Quality Assessment Laboratory should subject its person, policies, processes, procedures, and environment to more intense scrutiny and validation, by seeking international accreditation.,’’ he said

Meanwhile, the Registrar said the National Laboratory Equipment Calibration Center which would be inaugurated at the event would be first of its kind in the West African sub-region.

“The facility focuses on the calibration of medical instruments and ancillaries and is aimed at giving meaning to the vision to upscale the quality of service delivery in the health laboratory system.

“Of course, this can only be achieved if we ensure that the quality of equipment or instruments and ancillary products involved in the process of serving the end-user is not compromised.

“As we all know, this Centre could easily have been located elsewhere as the partners have enough goodwill and resources to do so.

“But MLSCN, being the National Regulatory Authority for medical laboratory services has shown that it has the capacity, the political will, and whatever else it takes to own and run this project for the benefit of all Nigerians.

“Therefore, I enjoin all stakeholders, especially Medical Laboratory Scientists in all the nooks and crannies of the country, to join hands with MLSCN to ensure that this facility succeeds,’’ he said.

Earlier, Prof. Muhammad Gwarzo, the Chairman, Governing Board, MLSCN commended all those whose tireless contributions had ensured that the council’s vision to ensure that NEQAL international accreditation came to fruition.

Gwarzo said that they had shown what prudent management of meager resources, determination, and hard work could achieve.

“The Management also deserves commendation for having the courage to subject the facility’s personnel, policies, processes, and procedures to international scrutiny, particularly involving such a renowned Accreditation Service as the SANAS.

“Today’s events prove the Council’s commitment to high standards in medical laboratory facilities in the country; I hope this collaboration between our agency and SANAS is the first of many innovative and productive joint ventures lined up.

“Similarly, the National Laboratory Equipment Calibration Center to be inaugurated shortly is nothing short of a national monument being the first of its kind in the entire West African sub-region.

“Every Medical Lab. scientist can attest to the indispensability of properly calibrated equipment towards the provision of accurate and reliable test results,’’ he said.

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According to him, the physical structure of the Calibration Centre may not be massive, but the role it is destined to play in the delivery of quality health care to the citizens cannot be vitiated by that.

He urged all Medical Laboratory facilities across the country to patronise this facility and help make the preponderance of faulty and moribund equipment in our laboratories a thing of the past.

NAN reports that the highlight of the event was the presentation of the Certificate of Accreditation Laboratory to the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Adeleke Mamora.

Mamora also inaugurated the National Laboratory Equipment Calibration Centre at MLSCN complex after the inspection.

Both facilities are owned by the MLSCN and funded by the US Centre Disease Control (CDC), with technical support from the Institute of Human   Virology of Nigeria

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