Singapore, 12 September 2011 - SATA CommHealth achieved another significant milestone as it received the official ISO 9001:2008 certification from Bureau Veritas Certification with United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) Accreditation on 23 August  2011.

The ISO 9001:2008 certification was conferred on SATA CommHealth upon the recommendation of the ISO auditors from Bureau Veritas after a three-day audit which consisted of a desktop audit on 14 July 2011 and a full Quality Management System audit on 3 and 4 August 2011. The results of the audit of its clinical services, nursing services, diagnostic imaging services, customer service as well as its headquarters� operations highlighted fourteen areas of strengths and zero non-conformity.

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"The audit team was impressed with the openness demonstrated by the employees and willingness for continual improvement at SATA CommHealth. The commitment to the implementation of quality management system was evident at all levels. We were especially impressed that Dr. K Thomas Abraham, the Chief Executive Officer, takes a personal interest in the management system, to ensure that every aspect of the quality and service delivery goes with no mistakes," commented Mr. Ram Desai, the Lead Auditor from Bureau Veritas.

"The aim of the ISO 9001:2008 is to ensure proper documentation and observance of procedures and processes to enhance quality service standards and operations. There will also be channels for feedback and complaints which will be addressed to effect areas for improvement," said Mr. Kevin Ng, Quality Management Manager of SATA CommHealth.

"The ISO certification is a significant milestone in the development of SATA CommHealth to fulfil our mission of promoting lifelong health and serving the community. Internally, our staff can manage their work in accordance with proper and documented work processes designed for the delivery of quality service to our patients. More importantly, the patients can look forward to receiving consistent service quality recognised by the ISO standards," said Dr. K Thomas Abraham, Chief Executive Officer of SATA CommHealth.

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About SATA CommHealth

Since its inception in 1947, the Singapore Anti-Tuberculosis Association (or SATA) has established itself as a leading organisation for combating tuberculosis (TB) during the post-war years.  Led by a founding team of doctors and businessmen/philanthropists, SATA focused on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of TB as well as the promotion of TB awareness in Singapore during the 1940s and 50s when TB was rampant and posed a national health threat.   In its early years, SATA provided out-patient diagnostic and treatment services relating primarily to lung health.  By the mid-50s, it started a mobile TB clinic via the legendary �SATA Bus� to treat needy patients who could not afford transport and medical fees to receive the required medical attention.   

As the incidence of TB began falling from the 1960s, SATA extended its outpatient service to treat heart diseases and was renamed from Royal Singapore Tuberculosis Clinic to SATA Heart and Chest Clinic to reflect its expanded role.  SATA remained active in promoting healthy hearts and lungs by advocating a smoke-free lifestyle through the 1970s and 80s.  At the same time it also became a leading provider of statutory health screening (ie. for pre-employment and pre-enrolment) and primary healthcare services.

Through its four medical centres located in the heartlands of Woodlands, Jurong, Ang Mo Kio and Bedok, three mobile X-ray units, one Mammo-On-Wheels (mobile mammography service) and one Doctor-On-Wheels, SATA continues to provide a comprehensive range of health screening and general practitioner services.  It continues to evolve into a major promoter of lifelong health by engaging the community, particularly the needy and elderly.  SATA renamed and rebranded itself in 2009 to SATA CommHealth to reflect its interest and focus on community healthcare.

SATA CommHealth continues to expand its scope of services to meet the healthcare needs of the community in line with its new mission of �Promoting lifelong health, serving the community�.

About Bureau Veritas 

With 80,000 clients in more than 100 countries, delivering over 100,000 certificates, Bureau Veritas Certification is the world's leading certification body. Relying on a global network of 6,300 highly qualified auditors in more than 100 countries world over and a vast expertise that is recognized by more than 40 national and international accreditation bodies, Bureau Veritas Certification offers a large range of customized certification and audit services in the Quality, Health & Safety, Environment and Social Responsibility fields from public standards to more customized schemes. Through these services, Bureau Veritas Certification enables all its clients to commit to ongoing processes aimed at improving their business performance as well as demonstrating their value while gaining competitive advantage.

Bureau Veritas Certification operates from Paris, France as its headquarters and with offices in more than 100 countries.

About United Kingdom Accreditation Service

The United Kingdom Accreditation Service is an international accreditation body recognised to assess, against internationally agreed standards, organisations that provide certification, testing, inspection and calibration services.

Accreditation by UKAS demonstrates the competence, impartiality and performance capability of these evaluators. 

UKAS is a non-profit-distributing private company, limited by guarantee. UKAS is independent of Government but is appointed as the national accreditation body by the Accreditation Regulations 2009 (SI No 3155/2009) and operates under a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government through the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Accreditation by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) is the key to ensuring that consumers, suppliers, purchasers and specifiers can have confidence in the quality of goods and in the provision of services throughout the supply chain. 

UKAS Operates from London, UK as its head quarters.