(MENAFN- Gulf Times) The
State of Qatar, under the wise leadership of His Highness the Emir
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, has made quality and safety of health
services the basis for the development of the health system, as Qatar
National Vision 2030 emphasises the development of an integrated
healthcare system that provides high-quality preventive and treatment
health services according to the highest international standards, HE the
Minister of Public Health Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari said.
In a
statement on the occasion of opening the 3rd Qatar Patient Safety Week
yesterday, the minister underlined that the health sector works to
ensure the highest levels of patient safety through the provision of the
best safe and effective healthcare.
The slogan of this week
'Together for Patient Safety reflects the importance of concerted
efforts by all through strong partnerships at the level of the health
system as a whole, HE Dr Hanan said, noting that patients and their
families are key partners in this field.
She underlined that
activities organised over the week with an active participation of the
health sector institutions contribute to the establishment of a culture
of patient safety for all concerned, thus ensuring that patients enjoy
safe and high quality medical care.
Organised by the Ministry of
Public Health, the 3rd Qatar Patient Safety Week kicked off with the
participation of more than 1,000 health practitioners. It will run until
September 30.
The event is an initiative and an educational and
awareness campaign that promotes the concept of patient safety among
employees and users of healthcare institutions.
The event aims to
promote and spread a culture of patient safety through dialogue with
decision-makers in all areas of health in order to develop regulations
and laws necessary to raise awareness about patient safety, and to
promote communication between decision makers, healthcare providers and
patients.
It will also shed light on the challenges facing the
activation of national initiatives in this area, the development of
appropriate solutions through public-private co-operation, and the
creation of a forum for dialogue between patients and healthcare
providers to enhance patient participation in building a sound health
system.
The event includes a number of activities, including
lectures, workshops and training programmes, with the participation of
distinguished experts in the field of quality of healthcare and safety
of patients from inside and outside Qatar.
It will also include
presentations for health practitioners and a poster competition for
local projects on improving quality and safety.
Addressing the
opening, Director of the Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety
Department at the Ministry Huda al-Katheeri highlighted the ministry's
role in promoting patient safety and providing the best quality health
services according to the highest standards to all citizens and resident
of Qatar.
She presented a brief summary of the department's
achievements in improving the quality of healthcare and patient safety,
and the future plans to improve the quality of health services in Qatar,
thus contributing to the achievement of Qatar National Vision 2030.
She
noted that the health ministry held partnerships with many health
sector and medical education institutions in the country, praising the
support of these partner institutions for this event.
The activities
of the 3rd Qatar Patient Safety Week include seven main tracks:
leadership and culture of quality, technology and pharmacological
safety, capacity building and engagement of staff, participation of
patients and their families, national guidelines for patient safety,
prevention and control of infection and the decisions based on data
comparable to international indicators and standards.
In a statement
to the press, al-Katheeri said that the ministry is effectively setting
policies, legislations and special standards in patient safety.
The
ministry also controls the implementation of these standards in health
institutions, which guarantees the quality of various health services,
she added.
Through the ministry's pivotal role in facing the
obstacles of patients' safety, it co-operates with international and
regional entities and has an obligation towards these entities to work
on bettering patient safety, alongside its guiding role to build
capacity and provide platforms for the exchange of experiences and
information, al-Katheeri said.
The supervisory role the ministry
practices in improving and securing patient safety starts by issuing
licences to health institutes and health practitioners, since no
licences are issued except after all patient safety standards are met in
addition to periodic visits to health facilities to ensure the
application of these standards, she added.
In the case that a health
institute is not following the safety standards, some procedures are
done against the institute and may include the withdrawal of their
licence in extreme cases and also work with those facilities to improve
their performance in improving patient safety, she revealed.
Al-Katheeri
said Qatar is considered a developed country in patient safety and
continuously works on advancing the standards and procedures in this
field.
She further noted that two of Qatar's hospitals have succeeded
in applying the World Health Organisation (WHO) patient safety friendly
hospital initiative standards, which shows how far standards are
implemented locally.
In response to a question about the criteria for
granting work permits to private health facilities, which some believe
to be strict, she explained that these standards are ultimately aimed at
protecting the safety of patients and that the ministry is continuously
reviewing the criteria for granting licences and listening to the views
of investors in the public health sector in order to develop the
services provided and encourage these investors.
Al-Katheeri said the
activities of the event week also include scientific lectures, work
papers, projects and initiatives to develop and improve the quality of
the patient safety field, as well as training courses, including a
training workshop by Sidra Medical and Research Center as well as a
simulation to meet the challenges of patient safety addressed to doctors
and nurses.
The event is planned to establish internal and external
networks for the exchange of knowledge and information in the field of
quality improvement and patient safety.
Public awareness campaigns will take place tomorrow, in a number of health centres.
On
September 29 and 30 the campaign will be help in one of the malls to
contribute to expanding awareness and launch initiatives on patient
safety as well as discuss the importance of medical safety and infection
control, and to encourage the attendees to participate and share their
views on the provided health services to contribute to its development.
The
first Qatar Patient Safety Week was organised in 2014 and the second in
2015, where the two events were a major success and a high demand from
all stakeholders.
The annual event is overseen by the Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety Department.
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