JANAAC Awards ISO15189: 2012 Accreditation to Grenadian Medical Testing Lab

Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill, Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce.

The Spice Isle Imaging Centre Inc. Laboratory has made history as the first and only medical testing lab in Grenada to be accredited by JANAAC Global Accreditation to the ISO15189:2012 standard.

The certification is for medical testing in haematology and transfusion medicine.

Accredited medical laboratories can readily demonstrate conformance to defined standards and best practices and provide the assurance of competence in the analyses that they undertake.

Addressing the official virtual Accreditation Awards Ceremony held on Wednesday (October 23), Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill said the achievement exemplifies JANAAC’s commitment to partnering with medical institutions to foster a reliable healthcare system across the Caribbean.

With the accreditation, he noted that the Spice Isle Imaging Centre lab joins a global network that adheres to the highest standards of competence and quality.

“This means that both patients and healthcare providers can have confidence in the accuracy and promptness of health results, which are critical factors for saving lives and preventing long-term healthcare challenges,” he pointed out.

Prime Minister of Grenada, Hon. Dickon Mitchell, in his address noted that the achievement is not only a win for Spice Isle Imaging but also for the country’s entire healthcare system.

“It opens the door to better diagnosis, improved patient care and stronger public confidence in our health services. With this accreditation, we can now engage in regional and international partnerships that will benefit Grenada’s healthcare sector and allow us to stand shoulder to shoulder with other nations in the region, proud of the quality of care that we provide,” he said.

He noted that the accreditation ensures that the results delivered by the laboratory are of the highest quality and can be trusted by healthcare providers and patients alike.

Prime Minister Mitchell commended JANAAC, noting that the entity’s partnership with Grenada “represents a shared vision of health equity, transparency and integrity in medical testing and certainly aligns with our vision in Grenada to improve, to the highest international standard, the country’s healthcare system,” he said.

Chief Executive Officer of JANAAC Global Accreditation, Sharonmae Walker, in her remarks, said that achieving ISO15189:2012 certification is a major achievement for a Caribbean country.

“The medical testing standard is key because it impacts all of us in our daily lives [in terms of] health and wellness… . It is very important for JANAAC in Jamaica to support Grenada as you, too, stand tall with the rest of the accredited assessment bodies globally who can declare that your results can be trusted,” she said.

“Your results can be used by your citizens wherever they go in the world… . Accreditation assures the integrity, the transparency, and quality that facilitates the acceptance of goods and services within your country, but best of all, globally,” she added.

The ISO 15189:2012 standard describes the requirements for quality and competence in medical laboratories.

Accreditation to this standard attests to the capability of laboratories to demonstrate the technical competence to provide reliable diagnostic testing to meet the health and social service needs of stakeholders including patients and the clinical personnel responsible for their care.

JANAAC provides accreditation services to 77 conformity assessment bodies through laboratories, inspection, and certification in 11 countries in CARICOM.

It is the only internationally recognised accreditation body in the English-speaking Caribbean, having full membership and executive representation on both the International Laboratory Cooperation (ILAC) and the Inter American Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC) Executive Committees.

JANAAC is the only accreditation body that has 10 of the 11 scopes recognised by the United States Food and Drug Association (US FDA) under the accredited third-party certification programme.

Source: JIS 

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