Sustainable national laboratory networks: OIE PVS Pathway Laboratory Mission

摘要

Many laboratory assessmenttools exist that provide insight into a given veterinary laboratory's quality management system and technical activities. Most of these tools focus on the assessment of one laboratory, usually in the framework of a project, in order to establish baseline performance in accordance with a list of prescribed indicators and determine areas for intervention and improvement over a period of time. However, these tools put little emphasis on mid- to long-term strategic, financial, organisational and operational aspects, which tend to persist after the end of a project or deteriorate over time.The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) proposes, as a complement to this traditional model of laboratory assessment, the Performance of Veterinary Services (PVS) Pathway Laboratory Tool.The PVS Pathway Laboratory Tool takes a sustainability-focused approach by concentrating on the supply of laboratory services -by looking at the resources and organisation of the veterinary laboratory network as a whole and its geographical distribution,analytical lines and functions - and by concentrating on the demand for laboratory services coming from national programmes of the Veterinary Services and the private sector.Important outputs of the mission include the calculation of the true cost of analysis, based on current and prospective activity and the development of a range of sustainable management, organisational, budgetary and financial solutions for the whole national veterinary laboratory network.The objective of the PVS Pathway Laboratory Mission is therefore not only to determine the resources needed by the national veterinary laboratory network to function optimally but also to evaluate the pertinence of its structure and its viability in thenational context.This approach puts the decision-making task firmly in the hands of Veterinary Services and encourages strategic planning and good management practices within the laboratory function to encourage compliance with the OIE standards on the quality of Veterinary Services.