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Quality Programmes, Certification and Accreditation

The Division strives to provide high clinical laboratory standards by engaging in well-accepted quality assurance activities. The Division’s Laboratory Quality Committee, consisting of members from all disciplines in the department, meets regularly and works closely together with each other and with clients to solve problems and to ensure a high standard of laboratory service. The quality and appropriateness of services are reviewed regularly in order to pursue opportunities to improve patient care, customer satisfaction and resolve identified problems. The aim is for clients to be confident that the test results and reports generated are accurate, reliable and clinically relevant and reported in a timely manner.

The Division’s laboratories are accredited or certified by the following locally/ internationally recognised accreditation or certification programmes:

Certification/Accreditation ProgrammeSinceSection/Laboratory Accredited or Certified
​College of American Pathologists Laboratory Accreditation Programme (CAP)​Mar 2003​All Clinical Laboratories in Department of Pathology
BSL-3 Laboratory Certification​Dec 2003​SGH BSL-3 Facility, Academia, Level 13
​Joint Commission International (JCI)​Jul 2005​Hospital-wide, all laboratories in Department of Pathology ​ ​
​Business Continuity Management (BCM)​Sep 2005
​Business Continuity Management (BCM-TR19:2005)​Aug 2007
World Health Organization​1998​National Polio Laboratory


The laboratories participate in proficiency testing, maintain and regularly review standard operating procedures and quality control procedures, conduct on-going personnel training and competency assessment, review specimen handling, test methodologies, test reporting and safety, among others. Feedback given by clients is important to help us improve our services and respond to their needs. Our laboratories participate in several well-established, locally and internationally recognised proficiency testing programmes. These programmes are useful to gauge our performance and standard against other laboratories which participate in the programmes. They are also useful from an educational point of view, and are important sources of information and clinical material. We have been obtaining good results for these proficiency testing programmes which cover the full spectrum of tests that are offered by our laboratories. The external quality programmes that are used for proficiency testing are listed in the table.

External Quality Assessment Programmes

Blood Bank Laboratory


​Disciplines   ​Programme Title​Frequency
​Blood Bank (Transfusion
Medicine) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
​CAP Comprehensive Transfusion Medicine ​3/year
​CAP Direct Antiglobulin Testing ​2/year
​CAP Transfusion Medicine, Automated Testing ​3/year
​CAP Transfusion Medicine Competency Assessment – Comprehensive Transfusion Medicine ​3/year
​CAP Transfusion Medicine Competency Assessment – Direct Antiglobulin Test ​2/year
​National External Quality Assessment Programme for Immunohaematology
(Blood Services Group, Health Sciences Authority)
​3/year
​National Proficiency Testing Scheme for ABO Group/Rhesus (D) Type Testing
(Blood Services Group, Health Sciences Authority)
​3/year


Clinical Biochemistry

​Programme Title ​Frequency
​BIO-RAD EQA Services – Serum Protein Survey ​Monthly
​BIO-RAD EQA Services – Therapeutic Drug Monitoring ​Monthly
​BIO-RAD EQA Services – Tumour Marker Survey  ​Monthly 
​CAP Accuracy Based Lipids ​2/year 
​CAP Accuracy Based Urine  ​2/year 
​CAP Aldolase ​2/year 
​CAP Biochemical Genetics ​2/year 
​CAP Blood Lead ​3/year
​CAP Blood Oximetry ​3/year
​CAP Body Fluid Chemistry 2/year ​
​CAP Body Fluid Chemistry 2​2/year 
​CAP Bone Markers and Vitamin survey​2/year 
CAP B-Type Natriuretic Peptide,5 Challenges
​3/year
CAP Cadmium (B2M urine, cadmium blood, cadmium urine)​6/year 
CAP Cardiac Markers (CKMB, TNT, Myoglobin)​3/year 
CAP  Cardiac Risk (hsCRP & Homocysteine)
​2/year
​CAP Cerebrospinal Fluid Chemistry & Oligoclonal Bands2/year
​CAP Chemistry/Therapeutic Drugs Monitoring​​3/year 
CAP Clinical Microscopy (urine casts and crystals)
2/year
CAP Competency Assessment2/year​
​CAP Creatinine Accuracy​2/year
​CAP Critical Care Aqueous Blood Gas with Chemistry​3/year
​CAP Diagnostic Immunology ​​​​​2/year
CAP Electrophoresis​​​​​2/year
​CAP Everolimus​​​​​2/year
CAP Fructosamine ​​​​​​​2/year
CAP Glucose-6-phospate Dehydrogenase​​​​​2/year
CAP Harmonized thyroid​​​​​2/year
CAP HbA1C Accuracy Calibration verification/linearity​​​​​2/year
CAP Hemoglobin A1c,5 Challenges ​​3/year
​CAP Hemocytometer Fluid Count (WBC and RBC cell count)​​​​2/year
​CAP Immunosuppressive Drugs​​​​2/year
​CAP Ketones​​​​2/year
CAP Kidney Stone Risk Assessment (for citrate and oxalate)​​​​2/year
​CAP Ligands (General)​​​3/year
​CAP Ligands (Special)​​​2/year
​CAP Maternal Screening​​​3/year
​CAP Myoglobin, Urine​2/year
CAP Neonatal Bilirubin, 5 Challenges​​3/year
CAP Quality Cross Check, Blood Gas​2/year
CAP Quality Cross Check, Blood Oximetry​2/year
CAP Porphobilinogen, urine​2/year
​CAP Procalcitonin​2/year
​CAP Pseudocholinesterase​3/year
​CAP Rheumatic Disease Special Serology​2/year
​CAP Serum Free Light Chains ​2/year
​CAP Special Immunology​3/year
CAP Testosterone & Estradiol Accuracy ​1/year
​CAP Trace Metals ​2/year
​CAP Trace Metals, Urine  ​2/year
​CAP Tumour Markers 2/year
​CAP Urine Chemistry (General) ​2/year
CAP Urine Chemistry (Special)​ ​2/year
HSA Chemistry & HbA1C survey ​2/year
​RCPA Condensed General Serum Chemistry and Therapeutic Drug ​Monthly
​RCPA Endocrine and PSA  ​Monthly
​RCPA Trace Elements ​Monthly
​RCPA Vitamins ​Monthly
​UKNEQAS Maternal Serum Screening ​Monthly