Dr Balwant Singh’s hospital now internationally certified  

Dr Balwant Singh’s Hospital is now the first and only hospital in Guyana that has received ISO [International Organisation for Standardization] certification.

In the last 15 years, the hospital has grown from a medical laboratory to being the only multispecialty hospital in Guyana that is now aligned with international standards with an accredited laboratory.

The lab was certified to the ISO 15189 standard two years ago but now has its International Organisation for Standardization ISO 9001:2015 certification.

The certification process was done by Perry Johnson Registrars Incorporation which conducted an audit to verify that the hospital met the requirements of international standards.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the hospital, Dr Madhu Singh at a press conference held at its East Street Georgetown location on Tuesday said that the certification was focused mostly on patient care and requirements.

This certification will boost the health care system in Guyana with consistent and reliable health services.

“The certification also ensures that you keep all your other services up to mark so we are very pleased, all of these things are voluntary, it is not compulsory to do any of this, but it is just that we like to set new standards for ourselves,” Dr Singh said.

Quality and Laboratory Management Systems Expert, Candelle Walcott-Bostwick said this certification means a lot not just for the hospital but for Guyana.

She explained that the hospital now has the complete package to offer quality health care.

“You have the doctors who would give your diagnosis and you have the testing laboratories with the competence to provide accurate and reliable results and then now we have the hospital which is now certified to the ISO 9001 standard, what this means is that the hospital will provide consistent and reliable services,” Walcott-Bostwick said.

The certification standards will allow for the reduction in errors; there is a system to prevent errors within the hospital and a system to identify errors and correct them.

The Guyana National Bureau of Standards provided the technical support to the hospital during the certification process.

The services audited during the ISO certification process included obstetrics and gynaecology, internal medicine, general surgery, nephrology and dialysis, ICU services, emergency services, assisted reproductive technology, ophthalmology, dentistry, radiology, paediatrics, neonatology and cardiology.