Laboratory services in hospitals and regional laboratories in Ethiopia

Abstract

bstract Background: Laboratory service facility in health institutions in Ethiopia of is very weak and limited. This can be explained by lack of properly designed laboratory rooms, shortage of equipment and supplies, poor maintenance system and lack of close follow-up and supervision. Objective: To assess the laboratory service at a Hospital and Regional levels, and to come up with some recommendations that may help for the improvement of the service in the country. Methods: Thirty-four health institutions with laboratory service (28 Hospitals and 6 Regional Referral laboratories) were assessed from 9 Regional and 2 Administrative states of the country. A pre-tested well-structured questionnaire was administered. Site supervision on the general conditions of the laboratories was also made. Results: Almost all the health institutions reported shortage of common supplies and reagents. Common and simple tests were not even done due to severe reagent shortages. Majority of the health institutions reported problems related to maintenance. Weak referral system and absence of quality assurance network were also observed. Recommendations: Planning together with laboratory professionals and/or budgeting the laboratory service separately and close follow-up for the proper utilization were suggested to alleviate the problems related to shortage of supplies and reagents. Establishing national quality assurance network, addressing problems related to maintenance, equipping the laboratories would help the laboratories to meet the need of the service users in the sector. [Ethiop.J.Health Dev. 2004;18(1):43-47]