An evaluation of the ongoing Laboratory Strengthening Project which commenced at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Anguilla in 2005 has just been carried out by two consultants. They are Valerie Wilson from the Project Implementation Unit at the Caribbean Epidemiological Centre (CAREC) in Trinidad, and Dr. Elio Giombini, a Public Health Expert from Rome, Italy, working with the European Union.

Serene Carter-Davis, Everette Duncan and others

“This project is an important one which has been implemented and supported by the European Union throughout the Caribbean,” Ms Wilson told media representatives just before she and her colleague left Anguilla. “It has been implemented in 23 countries in the region by CAREC through the Cari-forum Project and through a project for the British and Dutch Overseas Countries and Territories. The project is about strengthening the laboratory services to improve the quality of information provided by labs to support patient management and disease prevention and control.”

Ms Wilson made the point that not only had a standard been established for labs in the region, but an accreditation scheme had been set up for them. Further, efforts were made to ensure that the territories had put in place legislation for licensing of labs against basic standards. In addition the project had focussed a lot on human resource development, training persons to manage their labs well, and worked on curriculum upgrading to improve the level of the technologists who participated in the training programmes.

“We have also worked on distance education and Anguilla is one of the countries that did that,” she went on. “We have also encouraged countries to establish National Advisory Laboratory Committees. Serene Carter-Davis and Everett Duncan in Anguilla are part of that Committee and the Minister of Social Development (Evans Rogers) chairs that Lab Advisory Committee here in Anguilla.”

Ms Wilson disclosed that the project for the British and Dutch Overseas Countries and Territories amounted to approximately 1.5 million Euros. It was expended extensively on training programmes for lab managers and staff, the national accreditation focal point and stakeholders who participated in such matters like strategic services for the lab in Anguilla.

The other consultant, Dr. Giombini, said that his role was mainly to look at the implementation of the project in Anguilla in accordance with the plans and how the local Government authorities were involved in the process.

“We know very well that the quality, development and the strengthening of the laboratory is continuous activity and it is important for this to have a very good push and support,” he stated. “This is especially so in the case of Anguilla which is a very small country with limited resources and needs a wider network for more support and for one to see what is going on,...and we have been meeting with the Ministry and the Health Authority in that regard.”
Senior Medical Technologist, Everette Duncan, said that the implementation of the project had gone well so far despite limited staff, but sustainability was an important consideration. “We want support for those things we have been taught and have undertaken, and once we get this support from top management… and more staffing, we would be able to achieve much in a quicker time,” she added.
Chief Nursing Officer and Director of Quality Management, Ms Carter-Davis, said there was the will at the Ministry to have the Laboratory Strengthening Project well developed. “Things have improved and one of our first projects has been to re-arrange the area of the lab so that our personnel can have more space in which to function and the clients can have access to the amenities readily,” Ms Carter-Davis, who is also Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Social Development added.

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