St Stephens Centre staff member wins prestigious education award

Betty Ouma, Laboratory Manager at St Stephen’s Centre Research Laboratory, was part of Royal College of Pathologists, LabSkills Africa Project team that won the International Collaboration of the Year award from Times Higher Education Awards 2016.

LabSkills Africa phase one was a 2-year collaboration involving 12 partners in the UK and Africa. The programme, funded by DFID, aimed to improve clinical decision-making and increase patient safety by raising the standards and quality of laboratory services and tests that support diagnosis and management of health conditions.

Betty said: “This project is undoubtedly one of the best things I have ever done. I learned a lot from other mentors and participants on the project especially with regards to interaction and management skills. I got to spend time in Tanzania and Kenya and it really drove home about what we take for granted -  the change to clinical practice we’ve helped bring about made it worthwhile.”

The project has laid the foundations for the development of a regional laboratory improvement network and plans are underway to implement the model in Nigeria, South Sudan and Myanmar. Three of the four labs Betty covered have attained accreditation and the fourth is due to soon with continued mentorship from Betty.