Laboratory Quality Management and Accreditation Programme

The PPTC is committed to working alongside our neighbouring Pacific Island Ministries of Health and their National Laboratories to enable and strengthen their quest to achieve International Quality Standards of Practice, objectives, and operational management. The PPTC plays a progressive role in the development and implementation of Laboratory Quality Management and takes responsibility for conducting technical assessments, evaluations, and audits of hospital-based laboratories.

This activity aligns itself with the New Zealand Aid strategic goals and World Health Organization directives, to improve the health outcomes of people in these Pacific countries.

Consultants play a proactive role through their regular visits to advise on documentation requirements, human resource management, staff competency records, health and safety principles and common workflow initiatives.

Ultimately, the PPTC is advancing and developing Pacific Island laboratories to be fully compliant to ISO 15189 guidelines and therefore attain standards of practice consistent with international accreditation status. Attaining the requirements of ISO15189 guidelines is a globally recognised mark of efficiency and quality in the scientific profession.

PPTC consultants are able to guide and mentor Pacific Island laboratory management through an essential quality management structure and operating framework in order to build a robust and efficient national laboratory network. The PPTC’s work in LQMS mentoring can be seen in the progress of Tonga, Samoa, Solomon Is, and Vanuatu Laboratories over the last five years. They are all close to having an accreditation level assessment in the near future.

What PPTC Offers

The PPTC will provide mentorship to any Pacific Island laboratory in the areas of:

• Documentation requirements for key Quality Manuals and department procedure manuals. This includes organisation policies, management responsibilities, and operational processes.
• Personnel management and staff training records.
• Equipment management.
• Inventory management and purchasing, supply systems.
• Internal process control and quality assurance monitoring.
• Laboratory Health and Safety.
• Information management and laboratory information systems.
• Service assessments and auditing practices.
• Quality improvement projects.
• Customer services also include complaints, compliments, and incident reporting.
• Collection services and Specimen reception procedures.