Laboratory Accreditation – Pathology
Within the healthcare environment, pathology laboratories provide the foundation for evidence-based treatment and care upon which patients depend. In the UK, it is estimated that up to 70% of patients' diagnoses depend on pathology laboratory tests. With such a vital role within Healthcare, pathology laboratories must ensure that the services they provide are fit for purpose, and opportunities for continuous improvement are readily embraced.
Within the UK, the Clinical Pathology Accreditation (UK) Ltd (CPA) is nationally recognised as providing a set of minimum quality standards for pathology laboratory accreditation. Similar accreditation schemes exist in Canada, Australia, South Africa and the USA.
National standards, Government initiatives and EU Directives demanding and supporting laboratory accreditation have ensured quality assurance implementation has become second nature in laboratory practice. Accreditation is often misinterpreted as simply a compulsory and costly activity due to inefficient paper-based systems and misguided allocation of time and resources. Achieving accreditation becomes a costly overhead and consumes all efforts, and as a result, suppresses opportunities for continuous improvement.
Q-Pulse has been designed to allow organisations to demonstrate compliance, reduce risk, optimise laboratory processes and present opportunities to continually improve the organisation.
With installations in Newcastle-upon-Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital, Letterkenny General Hospital, Ireland, and Northern Ireland Medical Physics Agency to name but a few, Q-Pulse is the only Quality Management solution to be openly endorsed by Dr. David Burnett, the UK’s foremost authority on laboratory accreditation management and author of the best-selling ‘A Practical Guide to Accreditation in Laboratory Medicine.’
Sarvashni Moodliar of the South African National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) says,
‘Through Q-Pulse we’ve been able to streamline distribution and change control, store and retrieve our documents securely, and provide individuals, groups or disciplines with information that is relevant to them.’
David Muskett of East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust said,
‘Q-Pulse is well designed for work within the Pathology Lab. It is a real help in keeping the Quality management system in check. We currently use Q-Pulse for document control, incident reporting, personal review recording, training, developing competency frameworks and KSF maintenance.’
Contact us now laboratory@gaelquality.com to find out how Q-Pulse can enable you to improve efficiency and help you achieve laboratory accreditation.
