History

The transformation process started in June 1999, aiming at uniting the fragmented public health laboratory services, avoiding duplication of services resulting in wastage and cost-inefficiency and, most importantly, creating a world-class health laboratory service accessible to all South Africans in all corners of the country.

The main players of the NHLS had proven track records not only nationally, but were highly renowned in the international healthcare field. They are:

South African Institute for Medical Research (SAIMR)
The SAIMR was established in 1912 by an agreement between the Chamber of Mines and the Union Government of South Africa. Its primary task was to carry out research, and, in particular, to try to reduce the high death rate from pneumonia and other diseases prevalent in mineworkers on the Witwatersrand. The SAIMR was also permitted to carry out diagnostic work and charge for this service and to sell vaccines it produced. The work was done on a non-profit basis, the surplus earned going towards the development of the organisation. In the national interest, the SAIMR expanded its functions far wider, to include research into all the diseases that posed health problems in South Africa, such as pneumonia, diarrhoeal diseases, meningitis, malaria, poliomyelitis, tuberculosis, cancer, heart and genetic diseases and AIDS, and established for itself a worldwide reputation for excellence.

National Institute for Virology (NIV)
The NIV was established in 1976 when the government took over the laboratories of the Poliomyelitis Research Foundation. The NIV was the national virology reference centre in the country and had several reference laboratories accredited by the World Health organization, the only biosafety level-four laboratory in Africa. This is the highest safety status accorded to a laboratory and it provides the environment for scientists to work with highly contagious and dangerous bio-hazardous materials and pathogenic organisms such as viruses causing Congo fever, Lassa fever and Ebola fever.

National Centre for Occupational Health (NCOH)
The NCOH was established as the Pneumoconiosis Research Unit of the former SAIMR in the 1950's. It was subsequently transferred to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), thereafter to the Medical Research Council (MRC) and in 1979 became a part of the then Ministry of Health. The centre has the capacity to investigate occupational diseases and laboratories for occupational environment analysis. It serves as the occupational medicine department for the University of Witwatersrand and was internally restructured in 1997 to accommodate a changing occupational health environment.


Other role players

University Pathology Laboratories
The pathology departments and laboratories of the medical schools of the universities of the Witwatersrand, Pretoria, Cape Town, Limpopo, Stellenbosch, Free State, Walter Sisulu and KwaZulu-Natal are involved in teaching, research, training and the provision of diagnostic services to the hospitals in which they teach their students.

Provincial Departments of Health
These include laboratories set up by the various provinces particularly in the rural areas.


Today

The NHLS forms a national network of integrated pathology laboratories throughout the country that utilise common laboratory management systems and transport networks to facilitate transport of specimens, referral of tests to reference laboratories and delivery of results.

Approximately 265 laboratories are included in the NHLS, employing about 6,500 people. Their activities comprise diagnostic laboratory services, research, teaching and training, and production of sera for anti-snake venom, reagents and media. All laboratories provide laboratory diagnostic services to the national Department of Health, provincial hospitals, local authorities and medical practitioners.

Research conducted by the NHLS covers a wide spectrum of activities in all pathology disciplines. Grants in support of research are made by the SA Medical Research Council, the Cancer Association of South Africa, the SA Sugar Association, Poliomyelitis Research Foundation, pharmaceutical companies, private donors and a number of overseas institutions, among others. A large part of the research programme is financed by the NHLS itself from the earnings of its laboratory services.

The NHLS' teaching programme includes the training of medical technologists in association with the technikons. University teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate level is done through the pathology departments of university medical schools. Courses are provided in anatomical pathology, haematology, microbiology, infectious diseases, immunology, human genetics, chemical pathology, epidemiology, tropical diseases, molecular biology, medical entomology and human nutrition.