BARBADOS REFERENCE LABORATORY... is located at Beckles Road, St. Michael, Barbados. The laboratory was established in 1984 by Mr. Egbert Gibson, Dr. Wilfred dosSantos and Mr. Daniel Ifill. Mr. Egbert Gibson, F.R.C. Path., who has over 25 years experience as a consultant clinical chemist, continues to head the laboratory in his capacity as Managing Director. He leads a team of other medical consultants and medical technologists, as well as an administrative section. Over the years the laboratory has gained the reputation of being a trusted, progressive medical entity.
Certification of the Laboratory The Laboratory is registered and licensed by the Ministry of Health of Barbados under the Health Service Act 1976. The Laboratory must annually meet the requirements of the Ministry of Health in order to be registered and licensed.
Accreditation of the Laboratory Barbados Reference Laboratory was first awarded accreditation by the commission on Laboratory Accreditation of the College of American Pathologists (CAP) in 2009. This was the first accreditation of its kind to be awarded to a multi-discipline diagnostic clinical laboratory in the English speaking Caribbean, by the College of American Pathologist. The Laboratory has maintained its accreditation with The College of American Pathologists, which is considered worldwide to be the leader in laboratory quality assurance.
Quality Management The Laboratory’s Quality Management Program is structured to monitor and evaluate the quality and appropriateness of the laboratory’s contribution to improving patient care. The goal of the program is to ensure that high standards of laboratory medicine are practiced and achieved with commitment from all staff. All staff members are committed to providing laboratory services of the highest quality to all our customers in a timely and cost-effective manner.
Quality Control Our Quality Control programme is part of the laboratory’s overall Quality Management System and includes Internal Quality Controls, External Quality Assessment and Personnel Competency. Our internal quality control programe assures the quality of daily test results, thus ensuring that the results are reliable, reproducible and relevant; consequently guaranteeing quality patient care. Our External Quality assessment programme (Proficiency Testing) is administered by the College of American Pathologist and provides evaluation of past performances, compares our performance with other laboratories and provides a forum for improvement. Continuous personnel competency assessment is a requirement of our accrediting body.