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Quality Assurance

Quality assurance (QA) may be defined as 'all the planned and systematic activities put in place to ensure quality requirements for a product or service will be fulfilled'. QA provides confidence that the requirements of a product or service will be met. In a laboratory setting, QA encompasses all the processes whereby the quality of laboratory results and the subsequent laboratory reports can be guaranteed.  Those processes may include monitoring raw materials and supplies, controlling sample collection, transport, storage and processing, instrument calibration, record keeping,  proficiency testing (external quality assessment) and training of all personnel.  It is important to note that quality assurance is not limited to the technical procedures performed in the laboratory but includes all the pre and post examination activities.

Microbiology Services Colindale (Colindale) considers QA to be of paramount importance (see overview of Quality Standards at CfI Colindale).  In addition to implementing our own rigorous systems, CfI also provides a range of resources to support other microbiologists in improving their QA programmes:

 

National Standard Methods (food, water and clinical microbiology)

External Quality Assessment / Proficiency Testing   (food, water and clinical microbiology)

Evaluations (Microbiological Diagnostics Assessment Service)  (clinical microbiology)

Quality Assurance Training

 

 

 


 
  • Overview of Quality Standards at CfI Colindale
    HPA Colindale is a large institute, consisting of seventeen reference and support laboratories, including the External Quality Assurance Laboratory (QAL) which runs the UK National External Quality Assessment Scheme for microbiology; the Food and Environmental Proficiency Testing Unit (FEPTU) ; the National Collection of Type Cultures (NCTC); and the Department for Evaluations, Standards and Training (DEST).
    Added/updated: 15 December 2010

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