UKZN-NHLS Chemical Pathology Department Gets Recognition Certificate

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The UKZN-NHLS Chemical Pathology Department is among the national laboratories which received a Certificate of Recognition for Accreditation of Government Laboratories at a recent conference in Cape Town.

The certificate was issued by the African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM) in recognition of the laboratory’s quality of work and competence to perform well.

Laboratory Manager for Chemical Pathology at King Edward VIII Hospital, Mrs Usha Bellbhudder - who nominated the department for accreditation - said the international recognition confirmed the level of excellence at which the UKZN-NHLS Chemical Pathology Department conducted its business.

Bellbhudder said staff at the laboratory consisted of a combination of dedicated young and seasoned employees, all of whom worked as a team to ensure that the service delivery they provided to hospitals, affiliated clinics and the wider province of KwaZulu-Natal was always timeous and accurate.

‘We pride ourselves in ensuring accuracy and efficiency in our work and for this reason we are always strict about our turn-around times.’

The Department of Chemical Pathology is a joint UKZN-National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) unit, headed by Dr Magdalena Turzyniecka, who is based at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, and is part of the School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences within the College of Health Sciences.

‘This award confirms the importance of the team work and staff determination in aiming to achieve excellence which in the laboratory practice translates into alignment to international ISO standards which is the achievement of accreditation,’ said Turzyniecka.

The Department provides diagnostic laboratory services for the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital and the King Edward VIII Hospital as well as peripheral hospitals across KwaZulu-Natal.

At UKZN, the Discipline is proud to have a full automation analytical system and services about 180 000 to 200 000 tests every month. Chemical Pathology staff are also involved in teaching at undergraduate (MBChB) and postgraduate levels, providing training for the laboratory technicians, technologists, and medical scientists as well as for medical students and registrars. It actively participates in the hospital teaching activities.

Also known as Clinical Biochemistry or Clinical Chemistry, Chemical Pathology is unique in that it brings together science and all medical specialties and applies biochemical and molecular techniques in the diagnosis of a disease.

The Discipline originated over a century ago with the use of simple chemical tests for various components of blood and urine. Subsequently other techniques were applied including the use and measurement of enzyme activities, spectrophotometry, electrophoresis and immunoassays.

Lunga Memela