By Noimot Olayiwola
The Hamad Medical Corporation has become the first health institution in the Middle East to receive re-accreditation for all its five hospitals simultaneously by the Joint Commission International.
Besides the hospitals, most of which were being recognised for the second time as global leaders in public healthcare provision, the Home Health Care Services launched by the corporation earlier this year was also certified, making the corporation the only hospital in the Middle East to achieve such feat.
Official certification of the re-accreditation being described as unprecedented will be received within the next few months.
The accreditations, required every three years, took place between June and October.
Building upon the success of the initial accreditation during 2006, HMC has performed excellently across the board, with all hospitals meeting the JCI’s stringent criterion.
As the International division of Joint Commission Resources, JCI has been working with healthcare organisations, ministries of health and global organisations in more than 80 countries since 1994.
The organisation’s focus was on improving the safety of patient care through the provision of accreditation and certification services as well as through advisory and educational services aimed at helping organisations implement practical and sustainable solutions.
Speaking during an employees’ appreciation ceremony held recently, managing director Hanan al-Kuwari said the re-accreditation was a realisation of the vision of HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani for high quality healthcare.
“This quality and safety accreditation is part of our pledge to our patients and the citizens of Qatar, it represents the evidence of our commitment to quality of care and continuous service improvement within HMC,” she said.
She mentioned that JCI was one of the processes or tools by which an organisation can provide quality services at a very high standard.
“In the US, JCI accreditation guarantees a certain level of quality in any organisation, be it private or public,” she said.
Al-Kuwari explained that the re-accreditation of hospitals became necessary every three years to ensure that they meet standards which are being raised frequently by JCI.
“JCI re-accreditation of our hospitals further demonstrates and guarantees patients that we are always following very rigorous standards at all times and we are proud of this achievement as only few hospitals across the world can reach such very high standards,” al-Kuwari said.
She mentioned that the golden zeal of JCI will make HMC a highly sought-after institution for academic programmes and employments.
Al-Kuwari also emphasised the significant improvements in patient care, and praised efforts of medical, nursing and allied health staff, who were regularly undergoing training to raise the standards of care provided.
Quality Management executive director Badriya al-Ali said: “Since 2006, when we attained our first JCI accreditation, we have continually upheld clinical quality to be ready for the re-accreditation.”
She recalled that the intensive preparation work in the corporation for the re-accreditation started on a serious note in June last year, when the JCI consultants flagged the nine-pager standards document at a Clinical Committee Leadership and Group meeting.
“These gruelling audit days for all the facilities, are part of HMC’s continual quality journey to meet international standards in clinical quality and patient safety,” she said.
Nursing department director Nabila al-Meeri said the home health care services will soon expand to cover more areas such as the maternity, children’s health as well as medical equipment supply.
During the appreciation ceremony, certificates of recognition were presented to hospital executive directors and other senior staff. |
