The Pathology department at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital has maintained its special laboratory accreditation.

The accreditation through the Joint Commission International is an assessment of patient safety and quality standards. This is Pathology’s sixth JCI survey, which it has successfully passed each time since 2006.

The Pathology Department at KEMH includes the laboratory areas that do diagnostic testing, from blood and urine to biopsies, the morgue, transfusion services, including the Bermuda Blood Donor Centre, and the phlebotomy staff who draw blood.

Danee Swan, the Quality Manager in Pathology, said yesterday: “The survey was carried out remotely, but was still intense and demanding. We had to give two detailed presentations to our surveyor and sent a lot of advance documentation.

“During the survey week, the surveyor requested specific tests from specific dates and trace processes, staff competencies and patient results. This was an extremely rigorous process that traced tests from the patient – whether in an inpatient bed or outpatient lab – to the delivery of results. We are very pleased to have been awarded accreditation status.”

Kathy Stephens, the Pathology Manager, added: “We are accredited by Accreditation Canada as part of the hospital-wide process, but Pathology has also sought specialised laboratory accreditation with JCI since 2006, and we have successfully achieved it in the survey every three years since then.

“It is a testament to Pathology’s ongoing pursuit of excellence, ensuring we follow the highest patient safety and quality standards.”

Dr Clyde Wilson, the Chief of Pathology, said: “I would like to thank and congratulate the Pathology staff who work tirelessly every day to meet the highest standards to ensure our tests are accurate and timely.

“Through the year we have had to adapt constantly to the changing restrictions of the pandemic as the surges have come and gone and included new testing for Covid-19. We undertake about 3.5 million tests a year in the lab, but every one is significant to the individual patient, and at the heart of accreditation is our focus on patient care, doing the best we can for the people who need answers about their health.”