Minister of Health Dr. Perry Gomez at the PMH Laboratory Services accreditation ceremony.

THE Princess Margaret Hospital’s laboratory services were yesterday officially recognised by a regional accreditation body, something Health Minister Dr. Perry Gomez yesterday said will further “strengthen the culture of excellence” in the public healthcare system.

At a special accreditation ceremony at PMH’s Critical Care Block yesterday morning, Dr. Gomez said being accredited by the Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation (JANAAC) is something that allows for PMH’s laboratory services offering to be better engaged in providing “high standards of patient care”.

According to Dr. Gomez, JANAAC’s accreditation council had recently approved the recommendation from its accreditation evaluation committee to award an accreditation certificate for PMH’s laboratory as well as the “medical testing and evaluation field.”

“The importance of laboratory services in the Princess Margaret Hospital to the overall public health system in the Bahamas cannot be overstated,” Dr. Gomez said. “Not only does the laboratory support the diagnosis and treatment of patients here at our nation’s largest healthcare institution, but it serves as the primary source for the lab services and clinics across New Providence and the Family Islands.”

To the laboratory personnel present at yesterday’s ceremony, Dr. Gomez said: “Because of your role as the lynchpin of our public health system, it is vital that the public health providers and patients have full confidence in the credibility and the veracity of our laboratory services.”

He added: “The achievement of international accreditation of our laboratory facilities at PMH is not simply another feather in our cap. Accreditation and the improvements undertaken within the core lab are vital to enhancing our health systems across the public health platform, but more significantly, it advances our health system further, along the path of accreditation of all the critical care areas of all of our hospitals and health facilities.”

By Nico Scavella, Tribune Staff Reporter

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