Five PHCs get NABL certification

It will boost confidence in the testing facilities at PHCs in rural areas, says Health Minister Ma. Subramanian

Five Primary Health Centres in Tamil Nadu have obtained the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) certification.

Health Minister Ma. Subramanian said this was the first time in the country that PHCs have obtained the certification. The Additional PHC at Thalavaipattinam, Tiruppur district; the PHCs at Venkittankurichi in Ramanathapuram district, Mappilaiurani in Thoothukudi and Thovalai in Kanniyakumari district; and the PHC at Patchur in Tirupattur district have obtained the certification for medical testing labs (entry-level).

He said there were 2,127 PHCs under the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine. Each PHC had basic laboratory facilities to test for malaria, tuberculosis, haemoglobin and blood sugar. Tamil Nadu has implemented an external quality assurance scheme for laboratories in the PHCs. Christian Medical College, Vellore, was the external validation agency, officials said.

He said the five PHCs had applied for accreditation and obtained the NABL certification. The Minister added that this certification would ensure confidence in the testing facilities at the PHCs in rural areas.

The certificates were awarded at a national conference held in Bengaluru on August 25. Steps would be taken to obtain certification for the remaining PHC laboratories in phases, he said in a press release.

Health Secretary P. Senthilkumar; Mission Director of National Health Mission-Tamil Nadu Shilpa Prabhakar; Project Director of Tamil Nadu Health System Reform Programme S. Uma; and Director of Public Health T.S. Selvavinayagam were present.