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SPEECH BY THE CHAIRMAN, BOARD of MEMBERS, KENAS, DR.ROBERT MONDA, DURING THE LAUNCH OF POINT OF CARE TESTING ACCREDITATION ON 18TH AUGUST 2016 AT THE PANAFRICA HOTEL, NAIROBI.
Hon. Adan Mohammed, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives
Dr. Cleopa Mailu, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Health
The PS, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives, Mr. Julius Korir
The PS, Ministry of Health, Mr. Nicholas Muraguri
The Board of Directors KENAS present,
The Chief Executive Officer, KENAS – Mr. Sammy Milgo
Other Chief Executive Officers Present,
Supporting partners –CDC, CLSI (Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute) and PEPFAR (Presidential Emergency Programme for AIDS Relief)
Distinguished guests
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Goodmorning,
Today marks another incredible milestone for KENAS in the provision of accreditation services in the Kenyan health sector as we launch the Point of Care Testing accreditation service. It is a day when we appreciate the significance of accreditation in the Point of Care Testing activities which are administered for patients in health care facilities, hospitals and even homes.
Driven by faster diagnostic benefits, Point of Care Testing (POCT) is an activity that has revolutionized patient care globally. Many tests are being conducted beside patients’ hospital beds, in the emergency rooms, intensive care unit and at home. Inevitably, such kind of medical treatment does require more control, checks and balances to ensure accuracy in the test results. For that reason,KENAS ventured into partnership with Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) of the USA for expertise in capacity building in the provision of accreditation services for Point of Care Testing to ISO 15189(Medical laboratories requirements for quality and competence)and ISO 22870(Point of Care Testing requirements for quality and competence)accreditation Standards.
Simply put in economic terms, accreditation is a cornerstone of the worldwide system for a conformity assessment whose goals are to ultimately benefit the society by creating safety for both human beings and the environment, whilst contributing to economic welfare through trade facilitation. From a global perspective, accreditation and quality assurance are established as the leading information and discussion for all aspects relevant to healthcare quality, transparency and reliability of measurement results in chemical and biological sciences.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The journey to accreditation is a recent ideology and our commitment as the only State Corporation mandated to offer accreditation services in Kenya, is to ensure that all Kenyans understand their right to accurate medical test results and professional medical treatment. This is an ideal situation because health services are a matter of concern and need for every Kenyan, therefore the expectation is that medical practitioners and medical laboratories serve patients with utmost care, professionalism and technical know-how. Consequently, complaints and other manageable issues are resolved early and systematically as guided applicable by international Standards.
In retrospect, after the enactment of the new constitution in 2010, the Government of Kenya outlined a framework to alleviate poverty with a focus on improving governance and addressing major issues in health, education and economic growth. As a result, health related policies and regulations have been undergoing revision in order for the Government to attain its goal of strengthening the national healthcare system.
KENAS has also been privileged to work with the Governmentin policy making processes and in particular the review of the Kenya Quality Model for Health (KQMH).Hence, on behalf of KENAS management, I wish to thank the Government for this recognition and I further urge for more involvement in policy formulation and review as a means of entrenching accreditation as a quality infrastructure tool in health care provision.
Needless to say, there are notable strides towards the attainment of highest standard of health in Kenya since the Kenya Health Policy of 2014 – 2030 was published by Government through the Ministry of Health. Article 43 of the constitution states that, every person has the right to highest attainable standard of health (right to healthcare services) and that no person shall be denied emergency medical treatment which I will add – includes Point of Care Testing. Therefore, the launch of Point of Care Testing Accreditation is not only timely but very much needed in enhancing the quality of health care system in Kenya.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Board of KENAS is committed to ensuring provision of effective and efficient policy directions to enable KENAS promote accreditation as a means of facilitating regional and international trade. This will enhance requisite economic performance, societal transformation and political stability needed for the attainment of Kenya Vision 2030.
In addition, recognizing that Metrology, Standardization and Accreditation form the three pillars of the quality infrastructure of any country, I urge all organizations that carry out conformity assessment activities such as Proficiency Test provision in all fields, Testing (Medical, Pharmaceutical, Veterinary, and Blood Transfusion Services) Calibration, Inspection, Verification and Certification to also seek accreditation from KENAS, the sole National Accreditation Body.
As I conclude, I highly commend our Government for its tremendous support in the Stepwise approach towards accreditation of medical laboratories in the recent years (SLIPTA). This has resulted to two public medical laboratories (AMPATH and National HIV Reference Laboratory (NHRL) attaining accreditation to ISO 15189 and many more are walking on this journey.
Now, we wish to see more clinics and public hospitals seeking accreditation of Point of Care Testing as part of enhancing quality health care provision.
Dr. Robert Monda
Chairperson, KENAS Board.
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