“Congratulations to the laboratories, Unit’s leadership, members of the Quality Steering Group (QSG), and staff for their commitment and willingness to embrace the ISO 15189 standard and the Quality Management System (QMS) as part of their daily routine.”
MRC, Unit The Gambia, was successfully accredited to ISO 15189:2012 by the Kenyan Accreditation Services (KENAS) on the 10th of July 2015. International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) is the standard body of the world. ISO 15189:2012 is an international quality standard for the quality and competence of medical laboratories, which was introduced and implemented at The Unit in summer of 2012. The areas accredited within MRC, Unit The Gambia, include Clinical Laboratories, Serology & Mycobacteriology (TB) Diagnostics Laboratories, and the Quality Management System. This accreditation is globally recognised and accepted in over 80 different countries across the world, representing 95% of global GDP.

The decision to work towards ISO 15189:2012 is to ensure quality laboratory service delivery, which will enable us to drive impressive gains in quality, customer satisfaction and financial performance. This is a key development at a time when medical laboratory budgets are shrinking and more cuts in lab test prices are expected. This is also crucial to patient care, clinical trials and scientific researches, which contribute to saving lives and improving health across the developing world. The KENAS assessment of The Unit’s compliance to ISO 15189:2012 took place from 14 to 17 April 2015. The objective of the visit was to assess for compliance of the QMS, Clinical laboratories in Fajara, support departments and laboratory staff competence. The visit started with an opening meeting in which a presentation on The Unit’s QMS was given. The assessors interviewed and reviewed documents during the entire process, including observing various staff members perform routine activities. At the end of the assessment a closing meeting was held and the assessors commended the staff for their competence, as well as confidence in dealing with the assessors. It can be proudly reported that the areas identified within the scope were accredited, including the QMS. The KENAS accreditation certificates and schedule were well received by The Unit. This huge achievement was celebrated by recognising staff who have worked very hard to implement and achieve this standard.