Telarc experience and prospects - encouraging the remainder

Abstract

Laboratory accreditation in New Zealand is voluntary, and there are still many laboratories in the country who have been reluctant to request assessment. This includes many of the medium and small laboratories which are situated outside the main centres, and who could benefit most from peer assessment. TELARC sponsored a group of laboratories in the Waikato region to form a cooperative Regional Quality Assurance Group, using the RCPA AQAP as a common baseline. The project was based at Waikato Hospital, and initially included seven laboratories; now expanded to eleven to include the Bay of Plenty region. This group is linked to the Auckland Group of seven laboratories, which had been operating a similar scheme for over ten years. It soon became obvious to the peripheral laboratories that their standard of work compared favourably with the larger laboratories, and that there was a genuine willingness on the part of the main centre laboratories to communicate and assist them with technical problems. This experience and confidence has encouraged them to proceed with voluntary laboratory accreditation with TELARC. They now perceive TELARC as an organisation which is there to assist them and encourage quality performance, rather than regulate them.