The Department of Health – Bureau of Health Facilities and Services (DOH-BHFS) conducted a spot-monitoring of health facilities in SHD II, Tuguegarao City as part of its goal of maintaining standard protocols and procedures of accredited laboratories, wherein the Metropolitan Tuguegarao Water District (MTWD) Water Laboratory obtained a remarkable recommendation on Thursday, May 23, 2013.
DOH-BHFS protects public health safety and welfare by ensuring the accuracy, precision, and reliability of results generated by drinking water testing laboratories. They grant Certificate of Accreditation (COA) to laboratories that meet the prescribed standards and technical requirements. However, they also suspend or revoke COAs upon violation of AO 2001-0024: Implementing Rules and Regulations Governing Accreditation of Water Testing Laboratories.
BHFS regulatory officers namely Dr. Teodora Eugenio (Medical Officer V), Ms. Iloida Flores (Nurse V), Engr. Junjorge Soriano (Engineer II), Ms. Sonia Lavilla (Licensing Officer II), and Ms. Adelfa Tolentino (Psychologist II) surprised MTWD Water Laboratory analysts on Thursday morning and immediately requested for files and documents for their perusal. Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) manual, preventive maintenance logbook, quality control procedures, laboratory worksheets, lab reports, inventory of supplies and equipment, minutes of meetings, organizational chart, personnel data sheet, certificates, and laboratory calculations were asked for and reviewed meticulously.
With regard to documentation and personnel technicalities, Ms. Flores carefully evaluated the Qualification Standards of employees. She looked for list of relevant trainings, experiences, responsibilities, and other data pertinent to professional growth of employees. On the other hand, Engr. Soriano examined the physical plant of the lab. He inspected waste management and adequacy of water, power supply, drainage, ventilation, and work space. He also checked on laboratory equipment such as autoclave, incubator, refrigerator, water bath, microscope, colony counter, etc. for defects and malfunctioning.
Finally, the licensing officer interviewed the water analyst, Mr. Baron C. Moralit, regarding knowledge in procedures of water testing, media preparation, and quality control in the laboratory. Mr. Moralit was also asked regarding management strategies in connection with work flow and coordination in the lab. In addition, the laboratory technicians were challenged by questions about sterilization, aseptic techniques, and preserving the integrity of water samples during collection.
Notwithstanding such scrupulous assessment, the MTWD water laboratory earned a commendable remark from the regulatory team for complying with the minimum standards and requirements of a water testing laboratory. The strengths of the lab that were noted include clean and odor-free facility, competent staff, and files and records are easily retrievable. Moreover, the team recommended the lab just to keep up the good work.