National Health Laboratory Services Brochure - 2012

National Health Laboratory Service

Strengthening the healthcare system in South Africa

National Health Laboratory Service

Strengthening the healthcare system in South Africa 2

Written by: Ella Copeland Produced by: Craig Daniels >>>

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The NHLS is at the centre of medicine in South Africa, funding research, training experts and offering laboratory services

he largest diagnostic pathology service in South Africa, the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) has served the South African medical market for the past 11 years, providing health laboratory services, conducting medical research and providing training for health science education.

With 265Â laboratories across nine provinces and more than 6,700 members of staff, the NHLS cover 80 percent of the South African population, playing a major role in the public health of South Africa.

Established following an Act of Parliament, the NHLS is an amalgamation of the former South African Institute for Medical Research (SAIMR), National Institute for Virology and National Centre for Occupational Health in addition to university and provincial pathology laboratories. A stateowned entity, the NHLS is run as a not-for-profit company, offering three key functions across the country; providing services to the health industry across South Africa, training all the pathologists across the country and undertaking 3

National Health Laboratory Service Strengthening the healthcare system

appropriate skills for teaching and education through research and published work.

Extensive services Together, the divisions of the NHLS is pivotal to South Africa’s current medical care and quality assurance, in addition to investing in future medical research and training. Offering epidemiology, surveillance and outbreak response activities, the NHLS also provide key functions in the support of occupational health services, in addition to providing laboratory services for ‘priority programmes’ which address life-saving research into HIV and tuberculosis.

The NHLS has a number of divisions, including The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), National Institute for Occupational Health (NIOH), National Cancer Registry (NCR) and the South African Vaccine Producers (SAVP), which houses an Anti-venom Unit.

Research is funded by NHLS 4

The four divisions Established by the NHLS, the NICD is the national public health institute for South Africa, a centre for disease surveillance and control in South Africa. Replacing the previous National Institute for

With 265 laboratories across nine provinces and more than 6,700 members of staff, the NHLS cover 80 percent of the South African population, playing a major role in the public health of South Africa.”

Virology, it provides microbiology, virology, epidemiology, surveillance and public health research to support the government’s response to communicable disease threats.

Having existed in various forms since the 1950s, the NIOH is recognised internationally for excellence in research, service and training to support occupational health services not only in South Africa but also in Southern Africa through its extensive outreach activities and collaborations.

It consists of six key divisions; Occupational Medicine and Epidemiology; Occupational

Hygiene; Pathology; Toxicology and Analytical Services; National Cancer Registry and Cytology.

Each division has a specific focus and provides services and training to stakeholders, clients and students.

First established in 1986, the NCR plays a vital role in maintaining and developing national and international awareness of the growing problem of cancer in the South African population. The NCR falls under the executive management of the NIOH, operating as a surveillance unit whose major function is 5

Supplier Profile

Africa is at the top end of the risk scale for both hepatitis B and HIV infection.

VISIBLY BETTER MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY It is impossible to think of a hospital, laboratory, clinic or another healthcare service where medical technology does not make an enormous and often critical contribution.

BD has been a trusted partner of health institutions, professionals and service providers, funders, policy makers and consumers in Africa for decades. It is these partnerships across the continuum of healthcare which make our innovative and intelligent medical devices and systems indispensible in providing and improving health services across Africa. That way, BD indeed lives its mission – helping all people live healthy lives.

Protecting Africa’s precious healthcare workforce is a cornerstone of BD strategy.

The risk of contracting a life-threatening infection from a needle-stick injury depends largely on the transmission rates of blood borne pathogens and their prevalence in the population. Southern

Caring for the care givers while they provide care has motivated BD to develop and make available safety-engineered devices which minimise or even eradicate the risk of blood borne infections – which benefits healthcare workers, patients and communities. BD and the International Council of Nurses (ICN) are also helping to address this situation through the creation of dedicated nurses’ wellness centres in Africa.

BD offers advanced and effective tools to manage infectious diseases including TB and HIV. Some 400,000 cases of multidrugresistant TB are detected worldwide annually, and extensively drug-resistant TB is being reported across the world.

Many more cases go undiagnosed due to the lack of appropriate diagnostic facilities, including liquid culture and Drug Susceptibility Testing (DST).

In 2006, the World Health Organization called for the need for lab strengthening, endorsing the use of liquid culture methods such as the BD BACTEC™MGIT™960 for growth and detection of 1st and 2nd line DST. BD offers two different MGIT technologies, which dramatically shorten mycobacterial culture recovery time and improve patient management.

For further information, please visit www.bd.com/za or call (27) 011 603 2620.

ADVERTORIAL

BD also offers the gold standard and WHO recommended platform for CD4 enumeration.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are rapidly becoming Africa’s number one health challenge.

Globally 60% of deaths are caused by NCDs and a surprising 80% of these occur in developing countries. Diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancers are claiming the lives of more Africans than the “big three” communicable diseases combined (TB, HIV and malaria).

While BD is an expert in diagnosing and managing most NCDs, for example diabetes drug delivery, it is the women’s health and alarmingly high incidence of cervical cancer that have taken centre stage. Improved access to liquid-based cytology screening could dramatically change the face of cervical cancer in Africa by making possible earlier and more reliable detection of pre- and cancerous cells – and making the provision of optimal health services to women a truly achievable goal.

BD builds healthcare systems in Africa.

All these and other BD activities are underpinned by the company’s efforts and commitment to strengthening the healthcare systems in Africa so that they

are sufficiently robust to provide better access to and quality of care. This is done through providing technical assistance, increasing access to technologies, investing in new technologies and collaborating with like-minded organisations.

One aspect of this work are BD’s multipronged collaborations with PEPFAR, which are helping strengthen labs, protect healthcare workers and improve blood collection practices in sub-Saharan Africa.

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Together, we can ex

BD products and services

Value Added Services – trainings offered by BD: •

Basic Phlebotomy

•

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Health Care Worker Safety (Needle Stick Injuries)

Preanalytics for Arterial Blood Gas Collection

•

Preanalytics Quality Assurance

•

Blood Collection (Order of Draw)

•

GLP Training

•

Capillary Blood Collection

•

Injection Safety

BD, BD Logo and all other trademarks are property of Becton, Dickinson and Company. © 2012 BD 23-14750-00 20 Woodlands Drive, Building 31, 2nd Floor, Woodlands Office Park, Woodmead, Johannesburg, 2128 South Africa. www.bd.com/za

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xpand access for all.

s – always close at hand.

Who is BD? What do we stand for?

BD is a leading global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells medical devices, instrument systems and reagents. The Company is dedicated to improving people’s health throughout the world. BD is focused on improving drug delivery, enhancing the quality and speed of diagnosing infectious diseases and cancers as well as advancing research, discovery and production of new drugs and vaccines. BD’s capabilities are instrumental in combating many of the world’s most pressing diseases. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, BD employs approximately 29,000 associates in more than 50 countries around the world. The Company serves healthcare institutions, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, the pharmaceutical industry and the general public. For more information, please visit www.bd.com/za.

BD Diagnostics – Preanalytical Systems PAS identifies opportunities to address unmet health needs and develop innovative products that advance global health outcomes while generating significant business value. Pre-analytical Systems (PAS) is one of the Business segments driving this approach of shared value.

BD PAS employs a consultative selling approach to meet customers’ ongoing needs for professional education. BD PAS continues to drive the upgrade of clinical practice.

BD Diagnostics – Diagnostic Systems Diagnostic Systems is a leading provider of reagents and instruments used for diagnosing a broad range of infectious diseases, healthcareassociated infections and cancer. In the clinical market we offer products and services with focus on TB, Sepsis, HAIs, Sexually Transmitted Infections and Cervical Cancer abnormal cell screening tests.

BD Biosciences BD Biosciences is a provider of products and services that accelerate biomedical discovery and diagnosis. Clinicians and researchers globally use BD Biosciences tools to study genes, proteins and cells to better understand disease, to improve technologies for diagnosis and disease management (CD4 enumeration and Leukemia and Lymphoma diagnostics using Flow Cytometry) and to facilitate the discovery and development of novel therapeutics.

BD Medical – Medical Surgical Systems (MSS) MSS is among the world’s leading suppliers of medical devices and a leading innovator in injection- and infusion-based drug delivery since 1906. We focus on providing innovative solutions to reduce the spread of infection and to advance drug delivery. BD MSS offers a broad range of safety engineered injection and infusion products, surgical and regional anesthesia products, closed-system drug transfer devices and sharps disposal containers.

BD Medical – Diabetes Care A comprehensive range of Insulin administration products namely the BD Micro-Fine insulin syringes and pen needles which are manufactured to the highest quality international standards. The pen needle range encompasses all sizes including the newest, smallest and thinnest insulin pen needle from BD: the Micro-Fine 32G 4mm needle. The range of pen needles are compatible with all leading insulin pens creating a peace-of-mind application. A full range of insulin syringes for all patients are also available from paediatric 0,3 ml 8 mm to the 0,5 ml & 1 ml 30G 8 mm, thereby covering all patient needs for insulin syringes.

Supply Chain The BD Supply Chain is geared to meet customer service excellence through a direct distribution model. BD South Africa delivers directly to any address in South Africa through its third party logistic partner. We aim to engage in Collaborative Planning Forecasting and Replenishment with key customers in order to ensure that we consistently meet our customers’ demand requirements.

Technical Services BD Technical Services facilitates the partnership between BD and its customers by providing valuable technical support. With a team of highly skilled and professionally trained Technical Support Centre Specialists and Field Service Engineers, BD provides immediate telephonic support.

This guarantees a high standard of equipment reliability by ensuring that the appropriately skilled Field Service Engineer is assigned to maintain equipment. This results in less down time and first-time success.

results: delivered.

Speed. Scalability. Reliability. Standardization. Connectivity. ROI.

introducing AU5800 clinical chemistry systems

Learn more

www.beckmancoulter.com/AU5800VE Johannesburg: RenĂŠ Schlodder

rschlodder@beckman.com

Tel: +27 (011) 564 3000

Š Copyright 2012 Beckman Coulter, Inc. Beckman Coulter, the stylized logo and AU are trademarks of Beckman Coulter, Inc. and are registered with the USPTO.

National Health Laboratory Service Strengthening the healthcare system Supplier Profile

Beckman Coulter

ults: ered.

Beckman Coulter develops, manufactures and markets products that simplify, automate and innovate complex biomedical testing. Our diagnostic systems are found in hospitals and other critical care settings around the world and produce information used by physicians to diagnose disease, make treatment decisions and monitor patients.

Scientists use our life science research instruments to study complex biological problems including causes of disease and potential new therapies or drugs.

to collate and analyse newly diagnosed cancer cases and report annual cancer incidence rates.

The SAVP produces a range of anti-venom vaccines, and hosts the anti-venom unit. The sole African producer of equine anti-venoms for the treatment of bites from a range of snakes, spiders and scorpions, the SAVP also hosts the Quality Control Laboratories which offer contract safety testing and antibody testing to the pharmaceutical industry.

Website: www.beckmancoulter.com/ zation.

Connectivity. ROI. AU580OVE

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CD4 count testing 11

In here is a better way.

From the very beginning, we knew there was a better way. Where others saw boundaries and limits, we envisioned the full potential of molecular diagnostics to provide actionable test results when they are needed most: in critical and healthcare-associated infections, women’s health, genetic diseases, and cancer.

Delivering a better way, across the healthcare spectrum.

Cepheid powers same-day results in more than 3,000 locations worldwide.

Learn more at cepheidinternational.com.

A better way.

National Health Laboratory Service Strengthening the healthcare system Supplier Profile

Cepheid Cepheid (Nasdaq: CPHD) is a leading molecular diagnostics company that is dedicated to improving healthcare by developing, manufacturing, and marketing accurate yet easy-to-use molecular systems and tests. By automating highly complex and timeconsuming manual procedures, the company’s solutions deliver a better way for institutions of any size to perform sophisticated genetic testing for organisms and genetic-based diseases. Through its strong molecular biology capabilities, the company is focusing on those applications where accurate, rapid, and actionable test results are needed most, such as managing infectious diseases and cancer.

Investing in education The NHLS has an extremely large footprint across South Africa, with a lab in every hospital across the nation. Offering training to all of the pathologists and 80 percent of lab technicians across South Africa, the NHLS is responsible for training and research facilities, funding a number of universities in the country.

Research conducted by the National Health Laboratory Service covers a wide spectrum of activities in the pathology and surveillance disciplines. The

Website: www.cepheidinternational.com

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Mr Sagie Pilla, CEO

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Making it count for all stakeholders in the process. Making it count when you take important business decisions. Making it count when you search for hidden meaning in your data. Making it count when you face opportunity. Making it count when you are dreaming up new products. Making it count when you are assessing your career. Making it count when you are looking at us as your BI partner. www.bitanium.co.za

Enlighten your world.

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Water & sanitation Maintain, revamp and upgrade of all types of water works.

Get in touch to find out more.

Illuminating solutions for day or night. www.provincelighting.com

T: +27 36 631 0006 • F: +27 36 631 0084 hoffman.muhlemanzi@live.co.za

National Health Laboratory Service Strengthening the healthcare system Supplier Profile BITanium Consulting BITanium is firmly rooted in the Business Intelligence market. We deliver professional services focused on customer needs. Our insight into the BI sphere is that the solution architecture and underlying information engine is all-important, and that given a solid foundation, BI can be deployed to all levels of decision makers in their chosen delivery mediums. For us, customer value comes first, which means leveraging existing technology investments to the max.

Website: www.bitanium.co.za Visit us online:

The NHLS are at the centre of HIV research.

According to a spokesperson for the NHLS, 60 percent of the world’s HIV research is conducted in South Africa.”

research agenda covers the priority diseases within South Africa, such as HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, pneumococcal infections, occupational health, screening for cervical cancer and malnutrition.

Featuring the largest rollout programme in the world for gene export and drug resistance, the NHLS is at the centre of HIV research. According to a spokesperson for the NHLS, 60 percent of the world’s HIV research is conducted in South Africa.

Research is conducted through the pathology departments of the

NHLS is at the centre of HIV research 15

National Health Laboratory Service Strengthening the healthcare system

nine university medical schools associated with the National Health Laboratory Service.

Several research projects are undertaken in collaboration

Professor Maureen Coetzee

Prof Maureen Coetzee received the unique honour of having a mosquito subgenus named after her Coetzeemyia of the genus Aedes.”

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with international researchers and institutions.

To support the research undertaken in South Africa, the NHLS supply a number of grants to enhance research capacity in medical pathology. Providing research grants to support young and new staff members in addition to experienced/established academic medical pathology staff/researchers to undertake high quality research, the NHLS functions like a private business, using its funds to provide and organise trials and laboratory testing.

Ground breaking research One recent research project which was part funded and conducted by scientists from the NHLS has brought the world a step closer to a possible HIV vaccine.

Professor Lynn Morris, head of AIDS research at the NICD and Dr Penny Moore, a senior scientist at the NICD’s centre for HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections discovered that a weakness exists in HIV which can enable certain people to produce antibodies which are able to kill up to 88 percent of strains of the virus from around the world.

With such a successful

| www.africanbusinessreview.co.za

STATISTICS

background, the NHLS is at the forefront of medical research, both in South Africa and around the world. Offering a wealth of opportunity to academics and crucial medical care to the South African population, this stateowned company has a reputation to be proud of and will certainly develop this further in years to come.

Industry: Medicine/Healthcare laboratory testing, research Founded: 2001 Headquarters: Johannesburg, South Africa Key People/Titles: Mr Sagie Pillay, CEO Ms Sesi Baloyi, Chairperson Prof Shabir Madhi, Executive Director: National Institute for Communicable Diseases Dr Barry Kistnasamy, Executive Director, National Institute for Occupational Health Products/Services: Funding research, training experts and offering laboratory services Employees: 6,700 Website: www.nhls.ac.za

XL flowcytometers being validated and verified

Visit us online:

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National Health Laboratory Service Modderfontein Road Sandringham Johannesburg South Africa Tel: (011) 386-6000 Fax: (011) 386-6620 enquiries@nhls.ac.za www.nhls.ac.za

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