Jan 18, 2013

Patient safety has been further enhanced with the accreditation of all of the province’s medical laboratories. These facilities have been assessed and granted four-year accreditation certificates by the Institute for Quality Management in Healthcare (IQMH). The Cameron Report on the Commission of Inquiry on Hormone Receptor Testing included the recommendation that all medical laboratories in the province be accredited.

“Addressing the recommendations of Madame Justice Cameron has been and remains a priority for our government,” said the Honourable Susan Sullivan, Minister of Health and Community Services. “Each of these laboratories has undergone a comprehensive and rigorous assessment to meet the standards established by the Institute for Quality Management in Healthcare. Through this process, the public can be assured that laboratory medicine in Newfoundland and Labrador is practised to a very high standard.”

The IQMH was contracted by the Provincial Government to lead and complete the accreditation process. Accreditation is a peer review process which ensures that laboratories meet explicit quality management criteria, standardize their processes, and meet national benchmarks. Each of the province’s 38 labs was visited and assessed by IQMH representatives. Any corrective needs were identified and addressed and the laboratories then received accreditation. A full list of the laboratories can be found in the backgrounder below.

“I am extremely pleased with the significant progress our government has made towards implementing the recommendations of Justice Margaret Cameron since we received her report in March 2009,” said Minister Sullivan. “Since receiving the Commission of Inquiry on Hormone Receptor Testing Report, we have invested approximately $43 million to respond directly to the recommendations.”

The Provincial Government, in collaboration with the regional health authorities and the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information has completed or substantially completed 55 of the Cameron Report’s 60 recommendations. The remaining five recommendations are partially complete.

 

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Media contact:

Jennifer Tulk

Director of Communications

Department of Health and

Community Services

709-729-1377, 699-6524

jennifertulk@gov.nl.ca

 

BACKGROUNDER

Medical Laboratories Recently Accredited by the

Institute for Quality Management in Healthcare

 

Central Health

A.M. Guy Memorial Health Centre, Buchans

Baie Verte Peninsula Health Centre, Baie Verte

Bay d'Espoir Community Health Centre, St. Alban’s

Brookfield/Bonnews Health Centre, Brookfield

Central Newfoundland Regional Health Centre, Grand Falls-Windsor

Connaigre Peninsula Health Centre, Harbour Breton

Dr. Hugh Twomey Health Centre, Botwood

Fogo Island Health Centre, Fogo

Green Bay Health Centre, Springdale

James Paton Memorial Regional Health Centre, Gander

Lewisporte Health Centre, Lewisporte

Notre Dame Bay Memorial Health Centre, Twillingate

 

Eastern Health

Bonavista Peninsula Health Centre, Bonavista

Burin Peninsula Health Care Centre, Burin

Carbonear General Hospital, Carbonear

Dr. A.A. Wilkinson Memorial Health Centre, Old Perlican

Dr. G.B. Cross Memorial Hospital, Clarenville

Dr. Leonard A. Miller Centre, St. John’s

Dr. Walter Templeman Health Care Centre, Bell Island

Dr. Wm H. Newhook Community Health Centre, Whitbourne

Grand Bank Health Centre, Grand Bank

Health Sciences Centre, St. John’s

Placentia Health Centre, Placentia

Public Health Laboratory, St. John’s

St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital, St. John’s

U.S. Memorial Health Centre, St. Lawrence

 

Labrador-Grenfell Health

Captain William Jackman Memorial Hospital, Labrador City

Charles S. Curtis Memorial Hospital, St. Anthony

Labrador Health Centre, Happy Valley-Goose Bay

Labrador South Health Centre, Forteau

Strait of Belle Isle Health Centre, Flower’s Cove

White Bay Central Health Centre, Roddickton

 

Western Health

Bonne Bay Health Centre, Norris Point

Calder Health Centre, Burgeo

Dr. Charles L. LeGrow Health Care Centre, Port aux Basques

Rufus Guinchard Health Centre, Port Saunders

Sir Thomas Roddick Hospital, Stephenville

Western Memorial Regional Hospital, Corner Brook