For the first time in Sri Lanka, hospital laboratory achieves ISO: 15189 Standard:

Lanka hospitals sets intl' standards

In keeping with their vision of being the foremost and preferred private health care facility in the country, serving the nation and its people to build a healthier community, and fulfilling its mission to be recognized as one of the best facilities in the region, Lanka Hospitals has become the first hospital in Sri Lanka whose Laboratory is certified with the ISO: 15189 standard - an internationally renowned set of quality standards, specifically designed to facilitate and affirm particular requirements for quality and competence in medical laboratories.

Driving force behind the success story: (From left to right): M.R.P. Silva, Ms. Nadie Perera, K.P.D.S. Sarath Kumara, Dr. Rasika Adasuriya (Medical Registrar Diagnostics), Lakith Peiris (CEO), Dr. Wimal Karandagoda (DMS), Ms. Chintha Edirisinghe, W.L. Susantha, R.S. Pushpakumara and Dr. Harsha Goonethilake (Assistant Manager Diagnostics)

Medical laboratory services are an essential part of patient-care and therefore along with being reliable and accurate, have to meet the needs of all patients and the clinical personnel responsible for the care of these patients.

From the beginning steps of patient preparation identification and collection of samples, etc., to the end result of releasing patients' results, Lanka Hospitals works according to this international standard and uses it as the basis for all their activities, thereby ensuring patients receive results that are accurate and those which guarantee the highest quality.

The ISO standard provides a level of quality that can be measured globally and is maintained by the Sri Lanka Accreditation Board (SLAB) locally.

The ISO: 15189 standard differs from other standards by not limiting its judging to just management standards, but by also dealing with the technical aspect - providing advice to those who not only use the Laboratory services, but also collect samples from patients and interpret the test results.

In addition to these, the standard also gives guidelines on acceptable turn around times, how to provide testing in a medical emergency and also the laboratory's role in education and training of healthcare staff.

In their aim to ensure this high level of quality and reliability, the Lanka Hospitals Laboratory maintains internal standards of receiving advice on a regular basis from experts in relevant fields and through participating in external quality assurance programs in clinical laboratory testing such as RIQAS, National STD/AIDS control programs, National Blood Transfusion services, Bacteriology EQAS programs of MRI, Inter Laboratory comparisons and PT with the Sri Lanka Accreditation Board (SLAB).

To meet with SLAB standards and receive the ISO: 15189 accreditation, members of the Lanka Hospitals Laboratory team underwent external workshops and training courses carried out by SLAB on quality management and internal courses to update their knowledge in various fields - thus reiterating their team as a group of well experienced, qualified and competent individuals capable of handling all aspects of laboratory practices.

With the training they received, the laboratory staff involved with examination activities are now familiar with the ISO: 15189 quality documentation, and therefore, assure the patient that the relevant policies and procedures are implemented at all times, resulting in controlled and monitored procedures for even the procurement of laboratory equipment and reagents.

Lanka Hospital's strict adherence to laboratory ethics, discipline and quality assurance lead to high quality results that can be trusted by patients.

Stated Lakith Peiris, CEO of Lanka Hospitals, "We are indeed proud to have the first ISO: 15189 certified hospital laboratory in Sri Lanka here at Lanka Hospitals.

This milestone, whilst being a vast achievement, further emphasizes our passion for providing patients with quality healthcare that cannot be surpassed.

We are blessed with committed and dedicated employees whose hard work has been the key to all our achievements and successes.

Our new direction together with our precious people will certainly place us among the best in the world. We are committed to break many more barriers and achieve much more in the healthcare sector of Sri Lanka in the years to come."