The survey observed these results and information are used for diagnosis of various diseases, quality assessment of products and services. If the labs are not accredited, their results may lead to tremendous losses of human lives, capital and infrastructure. This is further unfortunate that comprehensive steps have not been taken to document the losses, which occur due to provision of inaccurate and unreliable results by pathological and industrial laboratories in the country, the survey observed.

Revealing the findings of the survey, CRCP secretary general, Mian Abrar said it was a sheer unfortunate that not a single laboratory is accredited in Pakistan. This is true for even the National Institute of Health (NIH) and Pakistan Council for Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) laboratories, which are used as reference labs nation-wide. As a result, consumers have to bear heavy costs.

Reflecting on the consequences of not having accredited laboratories, he said, consumers become victim of unreliable results of laboratories, which use non-validated methods, chemicals and analytical tools. In case, measuring instruments and machines are faulty or if there is a serious problem with calibration, the resulting information would be undoubtedly unreliable. This not only deprives the consumer from right to correct information but also perpetuates in service providers negligence and insensitiveness to citizen safety. One example is the Nishter Hospital tragedy, which claimed four lives on count of using faulty machine for anesthetization of the patients.

The survey noted that consumers knew little about the consequences of unaccredited laboratories. It highlighted the relevance of consumers and accreditation. Accreditation is one of the most effective means to promote standardization and ultimately quality culture. If the procedures and equipment of laboratories were not standardized, their results would be inaccurate thereby jeopardizing the safety of citizens.

The CRCP spokesperson emphasized that all consumers must be aware of the concept and need of accreditation of labs. Explaining the concept, he said accreditation is the process, which provides independent evaluation of client according to requirements of the applicable standards. On fulfilling the conditions laid down by the authorized body, certification bodies, and testing & calibration laboratories are entitled to get a certificate testimonial to their competitiveness, and capability to produce valid results, products, methods or services in their respective field.

CRCP general secretary highlighted the seminal role of Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC), which it could play in accreditation of laboratories and eventually producing quality culture in Pakistan. The survey recommended that the government should expedite the process of accreditation by giving due heed to constraints being faced by PNAC. It also emphasized upon the consumers to demand quality products and services, which shall subsequently lead to protection of their right to safety and accurate information.