A treatment decision is only as good as the report behind it. Your doctor reads a haemoglobin of 9.2, or a TSH of 11, or a culture that names the right antibiotic — and acts. If the number is wrong, the treatment is wrong. Nobody finds out until it fails.
That is why "where should I get my test done?" matters more than most people think. It is also why the words NABL accredited lab appear on our reports and signage. This guide explains what NABL checks, what it does not, how a lab earns and keeps it, and how to verify a lab's status yourself in two minutes.
Our diagnostics department in Sonipat is built around this laboratory, and the full list of tests we run is on the site.
What NABL is
NABL is the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories. It is India's national body for accrediting labs, and it works under the Quality Council of India. For medical labs it assesses against ISO 15189, the international standard written for medical testing.
NABL is a signatory to the mutual recognition arrangements run by ILAC. In plain terms, an NABL-accredited report has the same standing as one from an accredited lab in Europe or Australia. Their own site, nabl-india.org, explains the framework and lets you search for any accredited lab by name.
What an NABL accredited lab is actually checked on
This is the part worth understanding. People often assume "accredited" means "has good equipment". It means something more specific and more useful: an outside assessor has checked the whole process, end to end.
Sample handling. How a sample is labelled, how long it can wait, at what temperature, and what happens if it arrives unfit for testing. A haemoglobin from a sample that sat in the sun for three hours is not a haemoglobin.
Equipment and calibration. Every analyser calibrated against known standards, on a schedule, with records.
Internal quality control. Known-value control samples run alongside patient samples, every day, so that drift is caught before it reaches a report.
External quality assessment. An outside scheme sends blind samples. The lab tests them as if they were a patient's, and the results are compared with other labs. This is the check that catches a lab that is confidently wrong, every time.
Staff competence. Who is allowed to run which test, how they were trained, and how that is documented.
Reporting. Reference ranges that fit the method, clear units, and a set process for flagging and phoning through critical results.
Turnaround and traceability. Every result traceable back to a sample, an analyser, a reagent lot and a person.
The assessment is repeated. Accreditation is granted for a fixed period, with check visits in between. It can be withdrawn.
What accreditation does not mean
Being honest about the limits is part of the point.
It does not mean every result is perfect. No lab in the world can promise that. It means errors are looked for, found and fixed as a matter of routine, not discovered by a patient months later.
It does not cover every test a lab might offer. Accreditation is granted for a defined list of tests. A lab can be accredited for its blood counts and biochemistry, and not for a rare test it sends elsewhere. Reports state which.
And it does not replace the doctor. A report is information. Reading it in the context of the patient is clinical work, and it belongs to the treating doctor.
Why it matters more here than it might elsewhere
Sonipat has no shortage of places that will take a blood sample. What varies enormously is what happens to it afterwards.
Referring doctors in this district know the practical version of the problem. A patient comes back with a report from a lab the doctor has never heard of. Now the doctor has to decide: trust it, or repeat it? Repeating costs the patient money and a day. Trusting a wrong result costs more.
Accreditation answers that exact problem. It lets a doctor who has never set foot in the lab act on its report, because someone independent has already examined the process behind it. That is why doctors across the district send patients to us as a pathology lab in Sonipat they can rely on, even when the consultation happens elsewhere.
How to check a lab's status yourself
Any lab can print "NABL" on a signboard. Verifying it takes two minutes:
- Go to nabl-india.org and open the accredited-laboratories search.
- Search by the lab's name or certificate number. An accredited lab shows its certificate number on reports and at reception.
- Check that the accreditation is current, and look at the scope: which tests it actually covers.
If a lab cannot show you a certificate number, or the number does not appear in the search, the signboard is not worth much.
The laboratory at Saroj Hospital
Our pathology lab is NABL-accredited. It runs the blood, biochemistry, hormone, serology, microbiology and cytology tests listed on the tests page. It is led by Neha, M.Sc. (Medical Microbiology), the hospital's Managing Director, who is responsible for the quality system that NABL assesses.
Laboratory hours: Mon–Sat, 8:00 AM–7:00 PM. Sample collection runs Mon–Sat mornings, 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM, with fasting samples before 10 AM.
Most routine reports are ready the same day. Cultures need 48 to 72 hours to grow. Cytology needs a reporting pathologist and takes three to five days. The tests page shows which is which.
For patients of our own doctors, the consultation, the scan and the blood work happen in one building. Our guide to the first pregnancy checkup shows what that looks like in practice. If you were referred from outside, bring the prescription. You will take an accredited report back to your own doctor.
Frequently asked questions
Is an NABL accredited lab more expensive?
Not necessarily. Accreditation is a standard of process, not a tier of charges. What you pay depends on the test, and reception will confirm the figure when you book — we do not publish a number that might be out of date.
My report from another lab looks different. Should I repeat the test?
Ask the doctor who ordered it. Reference ranges differ between labs, and that is normal — it usually reflects different methods. Whether a repeat is worth it is a clinical call, not a lab one.
Does accreditation cover the ultrasound as well?
NABL medical lab accreditation covers the pathology lab — the blood, urine, culture and cytology work. Ultrasound is imaging. A radiologist reports it, and it sits under a separate professional framework.
How often is the lab re-assessed?
Accreditation runs for a fixed period with check visits in between, and it must be renewed. The current certificate number is on display at reception. Its status can be checked on the NABL site at any time.
Get your tests done here
If you have a prescription for blood work, or your doctor wants a test they can trust, bring it in. Sample collection runs every morning. Most reports are ready the same day, and the tests page lets you check what we run before you come.
See the full test list or book an appointment, or call reception on +91 96676 67011.
Reviewed by Neha, M.Sc. (Medical Microbiology), Managing Director, Saroj Hospital, Sonipat. This article describes laboratory accreditation and process; for interpretation of any test result, consult your treating doctor.
This article is general health information, not medical advice. For guidance about your own health, please consult a doctor.
Consult Neha
Book a real slot online — confirmation is instant.
