The Ministry of Health is working with all Bermuda's medical laboratories to ensure they are prepared and working towards accreditation, chief medical officer John Cann said last week.

Currently, only one lab ? C&S West Limited ? has accreditation. While the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital is accredited, the hospital's lab is not.

"Accreditation is a detailed comparison of an organisation's services and method of operation against a set of national standards," a Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) spokesperson explained.

The hospital receives accreditation from the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation (CCHSA). The process, the spokesperson explained, is two-part.

"The first part involves self-assessment; the BHB measures its own compliance against our national standards. Key areas that are examined ... include client/patient care and the delivery of service, information management practices, human resources development and management, the organisation's governance and management of the environment.

"Surveyors from outside the BHB then undertake the accreditation survey and use the same national standards to independently measure the organisation through an on-site survey. This survey offers clients the opportunity to have their performance measured by external, objective reviewers.

"The findings from the survey are summarised in a written report and focus on the BHB's strengths and weaknesses. Recommendations are made to help the BHB develop plans to improve areas which are weak and maintain areas which are strong."

The CCHSA does not grant laboratory accreditation, she added. "The BHB has contracted with the Joint Commission on Healthcare Accreditation Organisation to become accredited in this area."

Labs elsewhere on the Island are also working towards accreditation, Dr. Cann said. In fact, two lab technicians from the hospital are currently engaged in an 18-month training process in Trinidad to help assist and lead in the national effort.

The process is a phased, planned process, Dr. Cann said. First, all labs on the Island must be registered.

Once that is done, labs can begin the two-year accreditation process. The process will be slightly different for each lab ? larger labs like the one at the hospital perform far more services than smaller labs, which may only do blood work.

The process began about a year ago, Dr. Cann said. "By next year hopefully everyone will be on the road to being fully accredited."