St Joseph Lab 1st to be certified to revised national laboratory standard

The Guyana National Bureau of Standards’ (GNBS) Certification Services Department on Thursday recertified the St Joseph Mercy Hospital Laboratory after it demonstrated conformance to the requirements of the revised Guyana Standard (GYS 170:2021) – General requirements for the operation of a laboratory.
This certification marks the first of the laboratories in Guyana to conform to the requirements of this updated standard. The certificate, which is valid for two years, along with a plaque was handed over to the laboratory by Technical Officer within the GNBS Certification Services Department, Rosmarie Liliah, during a brief ceremony at the lab’s Parade Street, Georgetown location.
Receiving the certification on behalf of the establishment was Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the hospital, Deborah Ramsay.

In addressing those at the ceremony, Ramsay stated that the certification comes at a time when the hospital is celebrating its 77th anniversary.
She acknowledged the efforts of the laboratory team to ensure standards are maintained, and added that the certification along with the overall ISO 15189 certification the Hospital received in 2021 would be able to address crucial aspects in the lab, including risks.
Meanwhile, Quality Manager of the laboratory, Nolan Hawke, stated that implementing standards requires teamwork and good leadership. He added, “I am happy that the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Laboratory was able to step over to the revised standard, which includes pieces of the ISO 9001, ISO 15198, and the ISO 17025 international standards.”
Hawke is encouraging other labs to not be timid about adopting the requirements of the revised standard, because it would help to improve the overall national health care system.
On behalf of the GNBS, Liliah congratulated the Lab for being the first to be certified to the revised national standard. She advised that impromptu audits would be conducted by the Bureau to ensure that conformance to the requirements is maintained.
The scope of the certification covers hematology, serology, biochemistry and microbiology, immunology, parasitology/urology and Elisa/PCR. Through its laboratory Certification Programme, the GNBS monitors the operations of laboratories involved in testing, measurement and/or calibration activities, to ensure that they are satisfying the criteria for certification and the requirements outlined in the National Standard.
Laboratories which conform to the requirements of this standard are provided with formal recognition to attest that they have implemented an effective laboratory management system, which aids their provision of accurate and reliable results to patients, medical practitioners, and other requisite medical results.