Unilabs Laboratories, one of the leading Swiss diagnostic service provider, was recently granted with the ISO-15189 accreditation by the Emirates International Accreditation Centre (EIAC). ISO-15189 accreditation is one of the most crucial international accreditations in the medical lab field, particularly necessary for COVID-19 PCR testing in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

As per reports, Unilabs has become the first private health institution in the UAE to be presented with this international recognition. Subsequently, this is a major step towards boosting the robust efforts of the UAE to counter COVID-19 pandemic in the country and ensure health and safety of the people.

The international recognition was granted to Unilabs after the institution successfully passed all the assessment processes carried out by the EIAC. These assessment process conducted in accordance with competence protocols and standards of international medical labs.

Significantly, this accreditation is a testimony of Unilabs’s competence, operational quality and its commitment towards employing its technical resources and global expertise in supporting and improving the high production capacity of the country’s medical lab system. Unilab's laboratories have been working in line with the highest global standards along with the cooperation of the concerned health authorities.

Responding to the development, EIAC CEO Amina Ahmed Mohammed praised the vigorous efforts of the Unilabs team and their commitment towards achieving the accreditation in the UAE by fully complying to the necessary standards. She said that the accreditation makes Unilab's COVID-19 test results more reliable and recognizable both locally and internationally and will reinforce UAE's global stature at all levels.

"The accreditation of COVID-19 PCR testing, based on ISO-15189 medical labs, helps strengthen the UAE’s global position at all levels, especially in the quality of healthcare services. It also makes Unilabs’s test results more recognizable and more reliable both locally and globally, especially that EIAC is an internationally recognized centre by the ILAC in medical labs field," Amina Ahmed added.

Dr. Janan Al Zahid, Unilabs Medical Director affirmed that the aim of the institution is to contribute to the UAE's efforts in the fight against Coronavirus pandemic.

"The ISO-15189 accreditation involves an assessment of the medical laboratory that includes an examination of personnel qualifications and competence, safety procedures, equipment, reagents and supplies, quality assurance, and analytical, pre-analytical, and post-analytical factors. Our purpose is to provide added value to the UAE’s efforts, especially in the current circumstances," Dr Al Zahid said.

She also pointed out that the institution has developed a special mechanism for completing the assessment requirements by using means of advanced technology while adhering to COVID-19 safety instructions and in accordance with the international standards of medical labs

Dr. Hiba Khanafer, Quality Manager at Unilabs, said that achieving the accreditation reflects the competence and quality of labs' network in producing accurate and reliable results in a timely manner, adding that it will also reinforce the confidence of patients on their services.

WAM