Pinecrest Healthcare Ltd has called on the Federal Government and other stakeholders in Nigeria’s healthcare sector to declare a state of emergency on quality assurance in medical laboratory practice, warning that unreliable laboratory results could have serious consequences for patient care.

The company made the call ahead of its inaugural Quality Assurance Summit, scheduled for October 10, 2026, in Lagos, with the theme, “From Bench to Benchmark, Raising Laboratory Quality Standards for Patient Care.”

Pinecrest, which is marking its 20th anniversary, said there was an urgent need for governments at the national and sub-national levels to provide adequate resources to enable medical laboratories to implement robust and globally acceptable quality assurance protocols.

It also urged relevant regulatory bodies to ensure that medical laboratories comply with minimum quality standards, while calling on stakeholders to advocate the strict implementation of quality assurance across every aspect of medical laboratory practice.

Quality beyond compliance

The company said the summit was designed to provide a platform for healthcare professionals and other stakeholders to examine the importance of quality assurance in medical laboratory practice, identify existing gaps and explore practical approaches to achieving higher standards of diagnostic accuracy, reliability and patient safety.

According to Pinecrest, laboratory quality should not be reduced to compliance with regulations or the use of sophisticated equipment, but must become an integral part of everyday laboratory operations.

Compliance is important, but sustainable quality requires something deeper. It requires a culture of quality in which every member of the laboratory team understands how his or her actions can affect the reliability of a laboratory result and, ultimately, the care received by a patient.

— Pinecrest Healthcare Ltd

It explained that the summit’s theme, “From Bench to Benchmark,” represented a call for laboratories to move beyond simply performing tests to developing systems where quality is continuously measured, monitored, improved and demonstrated.

Pinecrest noted that laboratory investigations play a central role in modern healthcare, influencing clinical diagnosis, treatment decisions, disease monitoring and assessment of patient outcomes.

It therefore stressed that quality assurance must cover the entire analytical pathway, beginning with test requests and patient preparation through sample collection and transportation, analysis, result validation, reporting and clinical interpretation.

The company said an inaccurate or unreliable result could consequently have serious implications for a patient.

It added that the ultimate objective of laboratory quality was not merely to produce technically acceptable results but to ensure better patient care.

Every medical laboratory result represents a patient. Behind every specimen is a person waiting for an answer.

— Pinecrest Healthcare Ltd

The company explained that a laboratory result could determine whether a patient receives medication, undergoes a procedure, is admitted to hospital, is discharged, receives further investigation or is reassured.

“Consequently, laboratory quality is ultimately not just about machines, reagents, procedures or numbers. It is about people,” the company said.

Summit to focus on laboratory standards

The summit will focus on a number of critical issues, including quality assurance in modern laboratory practice, the role of people, processes and technology in driving laboratory excellence, and the need to make quality a culture rather than a checklist.

Participants will also receive practical illustrations on External Quality Assurance and Proficiency Testing Services, while a panel discussion is expected to deepen understanding of quality assurance in medical laboratory practice.

Pinecrest said the event would bring together medical laboratory scientists, pathologists, clinicians and physicians, laboratory managers, hospital managers and administrators, regulatory and government agencies, professional associations, academics, diagnostic laboratories, medical equipment and in-vitro diagnostic companies, quality assurance professionals and members of the media.

The company said collaboration among the different groups was essential to raising laboratory quality standards in Nigeria.

Our long-term aspiration is to push medical laboratory practice in Nigeria to the point where Quality becomes a Culture and not just a Checklist.

— Pinecrest Healthcare Ltd

The company said the Quality Assurance Summit was part of its contribution to strengthening standards in medical laboratory practice in Nigeria and was being organised in commemoration of its 20th anniversary.

The event will hold on October 10, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. in a hybrid format, with the physical session taking place at Welcome Center Hotel, International Airport Road, Lagos, and the virtual session on Zoom.

Pinecrest Healthcare Ltd invited members of the media to participate in the summit and engage healthcare professionals, speakers and representatives of the company on issues surrounding laboratory quality and patient care.