Ghana Standards Authority calls for regular calibration of equipment
The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) has expressed worry over the risks patients of health facilities are exposed to as a result of the irregular calibration of measuring devices and instruments.
Advertisement
These risks include wrong diagnosis of a patient’s health condition because of poorly calibrated measuring instruments that give wrong results, leading to the administration of ineffective treatment regimes.
In his welcome remarks at a press conference on the importance of calibration in Accra last Friday, the Head of the Public Relations Department of GSA, Mr Kofi Amponsah Bediako, said doctors (no matter how good they are) made diagnoses based on the results of measurements and tests that were run on the body with medical equipment and, therefore, if the equipment gave wrong results, the diagnoses and medical prescription would also be wrong.
That, he said, would have a negative impact on a sick patient, aggravating an already bad situation, because the patient would not be given the requisite treatment option.
The press briefing was organised by GSA as part of its campaign to educate the public and health facilities on the importance of regular calibration.
“Before a person donates blood, he or she should not weigh below 50 kilogrammes. However, a faulty weighing scale as a result of irregular calibration could indicate that a person about to donate blood is 60 kg when in actual fact the person is 40kg. Such a person donates blood and is likely to pass out,” he added.
He also cited situations where patients who did not suffer from high blood pressure, Human Immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV) or diabetes, among other ailments, were diagnosed to have them because of faulty or poorly calibrated devices, leading to the administration of wrong medications and vice versa.
According to him, there are lots of similar circumstances depriving the public of quality health care.
Measuring instruments
The clinical devices and instruments which need to be calibrated regularly include the sphygmomanometer for measuring blood pressure, clinical thermometers for measuring body temperature and weighing scales and balances for measuring body mass and other weights.
Mr Bediako said those measuring equipment needed to be calibrated every six months to ensure quality health care delivery.
According to the Deputy Executive Director in charge of core services at the authority, Mrs Elisabeth Adetola, stakeholders had taken health issues relating to calibration and verification of measuring instruments and devices in hospitals, clinics and medical laboratories for granted.
Mrs Adetola said failure to regularly calibrate medical equipment and devices was a compromise on quality health care delivery.
Why regular calibration
In his presentation, the Director of Metrology Division of the GSA, Mr Kwabena Acheampong, said calibration was necessary because the accuracy of all medical measuring equipment changed over time.
According to him, calibration of all those measuring devices provided and maintained confidence in the results of measurements provided by those equipment.
Mr Acheampong said poorly calibrated medical devices became faulty over time, resulting in wrong diagnoses which also led to the administration of wrong treatments.
Writer’s email Doreen.andoh@graphic.com.gh