Importance of accreditation underlined for labs, healthcare facilities

MARDAN: Speakers at a seminar on Friday said that healthcare and laboratories services can be improved through accreditation.

The seminar titled ‘Accreditation of Medical Laboratories and Healthcare facilities’ was organised by the Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC) in collaboration with Bacha Khan Medical College. The daylong seminar was organised to educate healthcare professionals about the importance and benefits of accreditation of medical laboratories and healthcare facilities. It was the first-ever session of PNAC in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Dean and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) BKMC Prof Dr Muhammad Fazil, Medical Director MMC Prof Dr Mukhtiar Ali, Hospital Director MMC Dr Tariq Mehmood, Deputy Hospital Director MMC/Project Director BBCH Dr Javed Iqbal and others were also present. Member Board of Governors (BoGs) Medical Teaching Institute Mardan Medical Complex (MTI-MMC) Tahir Ali Khan participated in the session through a video link. He hoped it was just the beginning of a long-term partnership with the PNAC to achieve the desired goals of creating awareness about the accreditation processes among the stakeholders.

Tahir Ali Khan expressed the hope to train the experts from MTI Mardan for the implementation of International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) in the hospital laboratories and facilities to improve healthcare services. Surgeons, hospital administrators, medical practitioners, pathologists, lab managers, technologists, technicians, nurses and pharmacists attended the session. Ismat Gul Khattak highlighted the importance of accreditation of healthcare facilities. She said that to form a global accreditation system consistent with the goal of “one standard, one test — accepted everywhere around the globe. Director, PNAC, Dr Muhammad Sarfaraz said that accreditation improved public trust that the organization was concerned for patient safety. Deputy Director PNAC Mohsin Hanif said that accreditation was formal and third-party recognition that an organization was competent to perform specific tasks. In the end, PNAC Director-General distributed certificates among the participants. Dean/CEO of the BKMC Prof Dr Fazil presented souvenir to PNAC DG Ismat Gul Khattak.