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Media Release
5 November 2003
The Australian Institute of Medical Scientists (AIMS) is alarmed by the
proposal that the Pathology Services Accreditation Board (PSAB), the
‘watchdog’ that has ensured the almost complete absence of unregulated and
unscrupulous pathology testing in Victoria, is to be disbanded and the
Pathology Services Accreditation Act 1984 repealed.
“This would be a disturbingly retrograde step” said Associate Professor Alan
Turner, Chair of the Victorian Branch of AIMS.
“Pathology accreditation legislation in Victoria applies to the complete
spectrum of pathology testing - from a shopping centre cholesterol test to
diagnosing meningococcal disease in a country hospital in the middle of the
night. It is the only State in Australia to have such legislation.
“In other States, some laboratories providing pathology services to the
public do not have to undergo accreditation or any formal quality assurance
process” Associate Professor Turner said.
The Commonwealth legislation that regulates pathology services throughout
Australia can operate only through the administration of Medicare. Services
that do not attract Medicare benefits remain unregulated in all States
except Victoria.
Last year the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing commissioned an
inquiry into the Australian pathology laboratory accreditation arrangements.
The report of that inquiry, the Corrs Report, identified the problem of
unregulated laboratories that operated outside the Medicare system and
suggested that complementary State-based legislation, as currently applies
in Victoria, may be appropriate to regulate these services, and to assist
with enforcement of compliance with national standards when there is a
significant risk to public health and safety.
But the Victorian Government is planning to repeal this act!
The Victorian Pathology Services Accreditation Act 1984, as well as setting
a very high standard for pathology services in that State, is responsible
for the almost complete absence of unregulated testing in Victoria.
Associate Professor Turner said that if the Act is repealed and PSAB
abolished, Victorians will be exposed, for the first time in twenty years,
to unregulated pathology testing, and possibly unqualified operators.
For further information, contact:
Associate Professor Alan Turner
Chair, Victorian Branch, Australian Institute of Medical Scientists
Email: alan.turner@rmit.edu.au
Telephone: 03-97852208
Mobile: 0402102990
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