5 govt PHC laboratories given NABL accreditation

CHENNAI: Laboratories functioning at five Primary Health Centers under the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine were given accreditation from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).

Health Minister Ma Subramanian made the announcement at the Tamil Nadu Government Multi Super-Speciality Hospital, on Monday. He said that these laboratories have basic facilities to conduct tests for malaria, tuberculosis, hemoglobin, blood sugar etc. and are functioning in every primary health centre.

The accreditation has been given to Primary Health Centers in Tirupur, Tirupattur, Ramanathapuram, Thoothukudi and Kanniyakumari.

NABL certification ensures reliability of laboratories operating in government primary health centres located in rural communities.

"The laboratories in 2,127 primary health centers across the State undergo checks under external quality assurance services of the Department of Biochemistry, Christian Medical College, Vellore to ensure the quality of laboratory studies. Through this, the quality of laboratory results is assessed by a third party data proficiency testing provider. Only Tamil Nadu has implemented a quality control programme for all primary health care laboratories in India," the Health Minister said.

NABL is a part of Quality Council of India (QCI) and provides laboratory accreditation to clinical testing laboratories upon check on quality standards. "The laboratories have achieved significant standards in accordance with the international standard ISO 15189 administered through the voluntary accreditation program of NABL. Efforts will be made so that all Primary Health Center laboratories get NABL accreditation," he added.

The PHCs had applied to NABL to apply proficiency and competence in testing based on technical equipment availability and quality standards being maintained by them. After assessing the same, the NABL accreditation was granted to these laboratories.

Earlier this year, the State Public Health Laboratory (SPHL) of the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine also obtained a NABL accreditation.