Dr. Onyia Calls for Emergency on Lab Quality Assurance

Dr. Chijioke Onyia, the Managing Director of Pinecrest HealthCare Limited, called for a state of emergency on quality assurance in medical laboratory practice in Nigeria. This appeal was made during a press briefing for the inaugural summit titled “From Bench to Benchmark – Raising Laboratory Standards for Patient Care,” scheduled to take place in Lagos this month.

Dr. Onyia emphasized the need for healthcare professionals and stakeholders to address quality assurance, identify gaps, and improve diagnostic accuracy and patient safety. He stated that quality assurance should be a collective responsibility involving government, regulators, and laboratory professionals.

He urged that resources be allocated to support medical laboratories in implementing quality assurance protocols and that regulatory bodies enforce compliance with minimum standards. The summit aims to encourage laboratories to develop systems for continuous quality measurement and improvement, ultimately enhancing patient care through reliable laboratory results.