19 Laboratories honoured
Twenty-one medical laboratories have been recognised at the maiden Ghana Medical Laboratory Excellence Awards.
The maiden awards night, which was held last Saturday, recognised the facilities for the roles they played in healthcare delivery.
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Organised by Africmedia Galaxy, an events management firm, in partnership with the Health Facilities Regulatory Agency (HEFRA), it was also aimed at promoting healthy competition in the field of medical laboratory.
Winners
The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital were adjudged the Best Research Laboratory Centre of the Year and the Best Public Medical Laboratory Centre of the Year, respectively.
Other winners were; G2 Medical Lab Services - Most Promising Lab Of The Year; Paradise Diagnostic Centre - Fastest Growing Laboratory Centre Of The Year;
Impact Medical &Laboratory Centre- Urology Laboratory Of The Year; Alabaster Laboratory Centre -Fastest Sars- Cov 2 Lab of the Year; Mds-Lancet Laboratory-
Best Technology Laboratory of the Year; Ridge Medical Centre-Promising Laboratory Centre of the Year; Alma Medical Laboratory Centre-Calibration Laboratory Centre of the Year; Foods and Drugs Authority-Best Public Health Laboratory Centre of the Year;and Euracare Ghana - Most Advanced Diagnostic Laboratory Centre of the Year.
The rest were: Holy Trinity Hospital- Beslaboratory Hospital Laboratory Centre of the Year; Metropolis Healthcare Ghana Limited - Best Pathology Laboratory Centre of the Year; Bd West Africa -Medical Laboratory Equipment Supply Company of the Year; Sysmex West Africa-Most Advanced Laboratory Equipments Company of the Year; Sunshine Healthcare Ltd-Best Hematology Laboratory Centre of the Year; Nosmay Enterprise-Best Laboratory Software Company Of The Year; Mds-Lancet Laboratory-Laboratory Centre of the Decade; Dr. Philip Bannor-Laboratory Personality of the Year; and Synlab Ghana Limited-Best Laboratory Centry Of The Year.
Significance
The Executive Director of Africmedia Galaxy, Joseph Egyir Sarfo, said without laboratories, finding solutions to people's health problems would be difficult, that was why there was the need to celebrate distinguished laboratory centres and practitioners who had made treatment easier.
He stated that laboratory medicine remained a neglected area, particularly in developing countries, and as a result, the important role of the laboratory centres in the diagnosis of disease and subsequent management of patients was not much appreciated.
He, therefore, called on the country to pay more attention to the area with regard to its development so that it could meet its clinical functions satisfactorily.
Integral part
The Acting Director of the Institutional Care Division of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Lawrence Ofori-Boadu, said medical laboratories and their associate professionals were an integral part of the country’s health system without which the health care could collapse.
Citing the COVID-19 pandemic as an example, he said without the diagnostic efforts of medical laboratories with regard to testing, the country would have failed in its quest to manage the disease.
“So we have to applaud them for what they do and more importantly for standing very tall in our COVID 19 response for the past two and half years,” Dr Ofori-Boadu added.
Technology
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Dr Bernard Okoe Boye, said although laboratories had over the years helped in providing easy, quick and prompt diagnosis for the citizenry, the positive impact of laboratory medicine would only be maximised by adding full value to laboratory tests.
He said all medical disciplines required individual laboratory testing and support for fast and efficient diagnoses and therapy monitoring and for that reason, laboratories must have broad knowledge and a good overview of the latest technology.
Dr Boye, therefore, charged all laboratory centres to be more professional and adopt modern standards in performing their duties and to increase the accuracy level of their results.