The Minister of State for Health, Joseph Ekumankama, has said the Federal Government would shut down unregistered medical laboratories in the country.
This is as he charged the management and staff of the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria not to relent or rest on their oars in the discharge of their statutory duties.
Ekumankana gave this charge when members of the Council led by the Registrar, Dr. Tosan Erhabor, paid him a courtesy visit at the Ministry of Health Headquarters in Abuja.
In a statement made available by the Ministry of Health on Saturday by the Director of Press, Ahmed Chindaya, the minister noted that policies would be formulated to ensure smooth running of the council.
The statement partly read, “The minister, who was appreciative of the visit, assured the team of the support and backing of the ministry in accomplishing the mandate and responsibilities of the Council.
“He said if need be, policies would be formulated to help carry out their functions, smoothly geared towards achieving the mandate of Mr. President in the health sector.
“In response to issues and request raised by the Council, the minister said that he believed that imbibed in the “Act”, that governs the Council were powers enabling them to regulate laboratories in hospitals across the country, hence nothing should restrain or constrain them from doing that.
“Moving forward, all hospitals under the Federal Ministry of Health will be the first set of hospitals to implement the full provisions of the law, which will be followed by laboratories in the state hospitals. With this, the minister said, medical laboratories not registered with the MLSCN will be shut down.”
“On validation of In Vitro Diagnostics before use in Nigeria, the minister informed that since there was a mandate backed by law, the MLSCN had the support of the Ministry of Health to fully monitor, implement and enforce everything that had to do with the regulation of laboratory products. In regards to non-registration by government agencies, that would be resolved by the ministry.
