Workshops address future of Quality Control Testing in Clinical Laboratories

Abbott has teamed up with Sten Westgard (pictured), Director of Client Services and Technology for Westgard QC, to help laboratories understand how high quality assays and more intelligent quality management strategies can help to improve quality while freeing up resources. As part of a global series of workshops, Abbott invited clinical laboratory and quality managers from across the UK to participate in interactive quality control (QC) forums with Sten Westgard.

The aim of the workshops was to provide laboratory staff with a greater understanding of the issues surrounding QC in a clinical environment, and discuss the potential benefits of high quality, reliable automated laboratory testing to alleviate the QC testing burden on laboratories. Chaired by Dr Ian Barnes, Chair of Pathology Quality Assurance Review, Medical Directorate, NHS England, and WEQAS Director Dr Annette Thomas, the sessions covered the many and varied elements of a robust QC testing system, as well as the tools available to assess, assure and optimise laboratory processes. Sten explained: “Laboratories have not significantly modified their QC procedures for almost half a century. It's time for laboratories to bring quality control into the 21st century and adopt more efficient, effective procedures. The Westgard rules have been used by laboratories around the world for many years, allowing the detection of both random and systematic errors, but application of full Westgard rules may not be necessary to maintain standards for highly reproducible, automated laboratory testing. If an assay is of sufficiently high quality, and suitably rigorous maintenance schedules are in place, then the risk of erroneous results is significantly reduced. In these cases, we can redesign QC testing strategies to reflect the reliability of the assay, freeing up staff time and other resources.”