Mauritius: A Laboratory Handbook aiming to provide comprehensive and adequate information to health care providers was launched today, by the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal, at the Caudan Arts Centre in Port Louis, in the presence of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Representative, Dr Anne Marie Ancia, and other personalities.
A one-day awareness workshop targeting the personnel of the Ministry also opened in the context of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2023 to promote the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases globally.
Speaking on occasion, Minister Jagutpal dwelt on the importance of the Laboratory Handbook for providing relevant information and guidelines to different stakeholders on patient preparation, sample collection, handling, and transport of samples. He indicated that the implementation of the Handbook by the Central Health Laboratory (CHL) will contribute towards achieving ISO 15189 accreditation and ensuring continuity in providing high-quality services.
Highlighting the CHL’s pivotal role in the surveillance of various diseases of public health importance, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, he indicated that the Laboratory had performed around 16 million tests in 2022. Dr Jagutpal urged officers to continuously improve their work for reliable, accurate and timely test results.
The promotion of a safe and healthy work environment was also emphasised by the Minister. He stressed that occupational health contributing to sustainable economic development and social progress requires the collaboration of employers and employees as well as relevant stakeholders. The total number of workers who were attended to in the year ending 2021 for health surveillance was 6,859, and the total number of workers examined for Pre-employment medical fitness examinations in 2021 was 4,274 in the different hospitals, he added.
As for Dr Ancia, she reiterated the WHO’s support to working collaboratively with the CHL in achieving its ISO certification so as to keep enhancing the quality of healthcare services.
