(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
Doha: Nearly 3,000 healthcare professionals from Qatar and around the world gathered virtually and in-person last weekend for the region's largest healthcare quality improvement and patient safety conference.
Running under the theme“Healthcare Resilience in Extraordinary Times”, the Middle East Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare was held over four days, including pre-conference workshop sessions and practical excursions held on Thursday and Friday that was followed by a 2-day intensive scientific sessions and plenaries delivered by renowned leaders in quality improvement, both international land local.
This year's Forum highlighted the resilience of the quality and safety aspects of the world-class healthcare services that are provided to patients across Qatar's health system, especially over the challenging last few years.
The event, which is now in its tenth year, is organised by Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) in collaboration with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). There were more than 15 exhibitors at the event, including the Ministry of Public Health, HMC's Hamad Healthcare Quality Institute (HHQI), Primary Health Care Corporation, Itqan Simulation Center, Qatar Red Crescent, Sidra Medicine, Qatar University, and the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), who showcased improvement efforts and initiatives within their respective organizations. The Knowledge Zone also featured activities showcasing the healthcare sector partners' pivotal role in the World Cup Qatar 2022 alongside the milestones of the Qatar National Health Strategy 2018 to 2022.
The event, which was opened by Minister of Public Health, H E Dr. Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, boasted nearly 100 scientific posters on quality and safety and healthcare improvement.
Nasser Al Naimi, Deputy Chief of Quality and Director of HHQI and Middle East Forum Co-Chair, explained how this year's forum tracks and focus on healthcare resilience were reflected in the popular Knowledge Zone area of the event.“There are so many inter-dependencies that need to be managed to initiate sustainable quality improvement and with our exhibits, we wanted to give delegates the opportunity to learn, reflect, be inspired, and share knowledge with other professionals –all in an exciting and fun environment,” said Al Naimi.
“Our focus this year was Healthcare Resilience in Extra Ordinary Times and gave us an opportunity to reflect on how far we have come in recent years in the face of the pandemic and how we responded to the challenge of the World Cup Qatar 2022.” Dr. Abdullatif Al Khal, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Director of Medical Education at HMC and Middle East Forum Co-Chair said there was demonstrable value in having such a world-class educational event in Qatar.
“This is a great opportunity for all healthcare professionals to participate in an international conference of a very high caliber without having to travel far. Many attendees who have been delegates at one of our previous Forums are now presenting their own work on quality and safety. A majority of our speakers and presenters came from Qatar and the region, which is a real testimony to the progress we have made in quality improvement understanding and application since we held our first Middle East Forum a decade ago. With the experience we have all gained from responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic as well as the health system's role in the World Cup Qatar 2022, it was vital that we meet to share our huge experiences and ideas with others.”