By Adiga Julius and Damba Rogers
In a bid to improve diagnosis services to patients across the country, pathologists are now calling for well streamlined and coordinated diagnosis systems to facilitate the faster flow of information related to the patient diagnosis to various centers.
Speaking at the opening of the regional training of pathologists at Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) , the national coordinator laboratory quality management systems, Patrick Ogwok raises a point of mismatching tests which in the end lead to wrong treatment hence adding to huge health complications to patients.
Ogwok is of
the view that all laboratories in the country be it private or public be inter
linked to have faster transmission and sharing of results for faster treatment
and sometimes advise.
Giving her
key note speech, the permanent secretary ministry of health Dr. Diana Atwine reminded the pathologists
of the importance of producing accurate and timely results to patients as well
the health experts to work on the patients upon referral.
She then
promises that all is being done by the ministry to have better equipment and
more man power to improve laboratory services mainly the work of pathologists
in the country.
Meanwhile,
the head of the central public health laboratory services, Dr. Susan Ndidde Nabadda attributes poor
diagnosis services, later and wrong diagnosis especially to cancer related
cases to poor transportation, sample collection, sample handling, sample
fixation.
The country
currently has only 20 practicing pathologists and 10 internationally certified
laboratories with plans to have 25 laboratories certified globally by the end
of 2020.
The training
is planned to reach all regions of the country as a means to enhance the
capacity of pathologists in Uganda.
END