Eureka Medical Laboratories Inc. (EML) has celebrated 21 years of service to the Guyanese public by achieving International Standards Organisation (ISO) accreditation from the Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation (JANAAC).
With this new accreditation, EML is able to conduct lab work that will now be recognised internationally.
The announcement of its recent achievement was made during a reception last Saturday at the Marriott Hotel, where the certificate of accreditation was handed over.
In his congratulatory speech to EML, Minister of Public Health Dr. George Norton applauded the lab for the accreditation, which, according to him, allows for the enhancement of the quality of service that is already being offered.
He noted that with 21 years of service and seven locations countrywide, EML has managed to build a reputation of providing Guyanese with quality service. He went on to stress that too often the quality of service being offered by medical institutions is taken for granted as more focus is placed on quantity rather than quality.
“As the minister with the responsibility of public health, it pleases me that you have achieved this International Standard Organisation accreditation. This means that you can take patient care to the next level and that is what the objective should be,” he said.
While he encouraged EML to use the accreditation as an opportunity to improve the services that it provides to the Guyanese people, he also urged it to avoid growing complacent.
Also present during last Saturday’s reception was CEO of JANAAC Sharonmae Shirley, who explained that before being accredited, EML would have had to have undergone an extended assessment to ensure that it has the requisite staff, methods and equipment to consistently meet the requirements of the international standard.
Meanwhile CEO of EML, W. Andrew Boyle expressed gratitude for the accreditation, while noting that it was not “a walk in the park.”
“Eureka has been accredited. It’s not the end of the world, it’s the beginning; this is now where the work starts. We have lots of innovations in the pipeline and accreditation was one of them. We are going to ensure that we will work diligently to maintain the standards as well as improving and building on what we have,” he offered.
While the certificate was handed over only on Saturday, JANAAC’s CEO noted that EML would have secured official accreditation on February 4, 2016, which is the date that is also reflected on the certificate.
