Prince Mohammed Bin Abdul Aziz Hospital (PMBAH) - Al Madinah, Ministry of National Guard – Health Affairs have accomplished an unprecedented achievement where the Laboratory Department received the highest medical accreditation in the field of laboratories from the prestigious American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) organization, As the first Saudi governmental and private health facility to receive this strict accreditation since the establishment of the organization in 1978. This accreditation makes the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia amongst 20 elite laboratories around the world who have this accreditation.
Dr. Michael Bred, Head of the A2LA inspectors, said that the MNG-HA should be proud, as this is a global certificate that only the elite around the world would receive. PMBAH Laboratories are professional in what you do and the work quality is of the highest standards. We have inspected hundreds of clinical and administrative standards here, and some of your standards are higher than what is internationally required, and we as an organization promise strict standardization. During my inspection visit, I was really impressed with the services provided, the commitment, quality and high competencies. This is a fact; not only in the field of laboratories but in the whole hospital in general, you are a source of great pride in the healthcare world .
The organization’s audit team visited Prince Mohammed Bin Abdul Aziz Hospital (PMBAH) - Al Madinah led by Dr. Michael Bard and his assistant Dr. Rose Villanueva, where the team conducted a thorough clinical and administrative audit for several days on thousands of procedures for tens of hours. The inspection process included more than 10 technical medical items, with more than 115 sub-items. The inspection also included more than 15 administrative items, with more than 66 sub-items.
A2LA is one of the world's most rigorous international organizations that awards the ISO15189 under the ILAC Global Laboratory Assessment and Certification. Hundreds of laboratories around the world are seeking accreditation each year from A2LA, but they do not always succeed because of the Organization's strict standards in all types of procedures, even the minor ones. The accreditation granted by the organization is valid for 4 years and is renewed through an evaluation visits.
According to the organization's website, PMBAH has achieved full accreditation for all laboratory tests, analyzes and services, exceeding 220, which shows the size of this great achievement.
On this occasion, Executive Director of Operations, PMBAH Mr. Mansour Al Askar, said: "Our pride is indescribable. We see the name of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the name of Prince Mohammed Bin Abdul Aziz Hospital - Al Madinah amongst a list of the best laboratories around the world, and with obtaining the highest medical accreditation in this field as the first Saudi establishment to achieve this challenging achievement, we have surpassed thousands of government and private, small and large laboratories not only in the Kingdom but worldwide. This achievement showcases the excellence, quality and efficiency of services provided by the hospital.
On his part, the Director of Laboratory Services Mr. Abdulaziz Al-Jahani said: “we succeeded in attaining this global achievement thanks to God and the efforts of my colleagues who worked day and night to achieve it. Since the first day, we decided to be on top; this accreditation is from the College of American Pathologists (CAP), which is an organization that provides the same certification but with lower standards and is not accredited by the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and its main accreditation is in America only. Despite the difficulty of the mission, we were confident that as a team of national and professional cadres, equipped with global technology and the unlimited support of the hospital's medical and operational management, we were able to obtain this achievement. I would like to congratulate my colleagues and all the MNG-HA members on this huge achievement.