MDS- Lancet Laboratories opens head office
MDS-LANCET Laboratories Ghana Limited has inaugurated its head office at East Legon in Accra, after five years of operations in Ghana.
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Accredited by the South Africa National Accreditation System (SANAS) and adhering to international criteria set out according to ISO Standard 15189, MDS-Lancet Ghana operates the first commercial ISO-accredited Molecular Biology Laboratory in Ghana.
After touring the facility, the President of the Ghana Heart Foundation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, noted that MDS-Lancet had the potential to provide laboratory services that were beyond the scope of request from any hospital in Ghana.
“There is no true tertiary referral hospital in Ghana, where all health challenges of any organ system can be solved without referral abroad,” he said, adding that MDS-Lancet had set the pace.
He underscored the importance of medical laboratories in the management of patients’ health problems, stressing that at least 85 per cent of all medical decisions were based on the results of clinical laboratory testing.
He, therefore, cautioned prospective patients to seek quality health care, stressing that it was dangerous to rely on poorly equipped and sub-standard laboratories.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng urged MDS-Lancet Ghana not to limit itself to service delivery but engage in research not only in laboratory medicine but also in areas such as food safety and environmental pollution.
He encouraged hospitals and clinics, both private and public, to make use of the services of MDS-Lancet Ghana for their utmost benefit.
He noted that MDS-Lancet had a lot to offer in the training of medical laboratory scientists in the College of Allied Health Services in Ghana and urged students to take advantage of the facility.
He commended the nine justices hearing the election petition at the Supreme Court, presided over by Justice William Atuguba, for their wisdom and firmness in bringing home to political communicators and others the importance of state institutions such as the judiciary.
That, Prof Frimpong-Boateng said, was key to ensuring “justice, freedom and peace in our dear nation Ghana”.
The Chief Executive Officer of MDS-Lancet Laboratories, Dr Paul Sekyere-Nyantakyi, in his welcome address, noted that the edifice formed part of efforts of putting up a reliable laboratory to serve the needs of all.
He said the company had installed information management systems that had enabled the laboratory to carry out effective, timely, accurate and cost-effective reporting of laboratory-generated information for the benefit of clients, including door-to-door services.
Present at the ceremony were the Group Chairman of Lancet Laboratories South Africa, Dr Gangaram Hariparsad; the Chief Executive Officer of Lancet Laboratories, Dr Peter Cole; the Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, Archbishop Charles Palmer-Buckle, and some health practitioners.
The ceremony ended with the hoisting of the flags of Ghana, South Africa and MDS-Lancet Ghana, amidst the exchange of pleasantries and networking.
By Emmanuel Baah/Daily Graphic/Ghana
