The Guyana Association of Medical Laboratory Profes-sionals (GAMLP) has undertaken several initiatives in an effort to improve the medical laboratory accreditation process.

According to a press release from the Government Information Agency (GINA) the GAMLP, which comprises representatives from the public and private sector laboratories, intends to provide continuous medical laboratory education. This, along with the registration process it established with the Guyana National Bureau of Standards more than ten years ago, would improve and maintain quality standards. Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy, in his address at the forum hosted at the Hotel Tower recently, voiced his disappointment over the slow pace of registration. Ramsammy said the registration process should also encompass certification of practitioners, whom, he noted, are as important as other professionals in the health sector. They, too, will soon be following an accreditation procedure to ensure certain codes of conduct are maintained.

Although Guyana is the leading country in the Caribbean as regards proficiency testing and quality assurance and is among a small number of countries with a programme for laboratory practitioners, certification has not been made compulsory. Ramsammy said though technological ad-vances in the sector have advanced, laboratory services in Guyana are still heavily dependent on practitioners. He said laboratory scientists will be the central administrative figures in a number of health programmes slated for the new year and they are expected to spearhead the typhoid elimination programme. However, he contended, they too should participate in the continuing education programme as their licences will be renewed annually.

The minister said these issues will be addressed during discussions on the health professional bill which he intends to table in the National Assembly within the first six months of the year. This bill, he said, will replace the existing Allied Health Professionals Act. Addition-ally, a new public health laboratory will be built at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation which will facilitate new tests that have been added to the roster. Plans are also in train to establish partnerships with overseas laboratories to boost the local system.