The Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) recently held an ‘Infection and Prevention Control (IPC) Week 2014’, which is a campaign to raise awareness among staff and patients about the latest international best practices for infection control within a healthcare environment.

The campaign was led by the newly-established Corporate Infection Prevention and Control Programme (CIPC) team at HMC.

The CIPC is a strategic programme that aims to develop effective infection control practices to drive continuous quality improvement within the organisation.

Such practices can prevent the spread of hospital-acquired infections through blood or other bodily fluids.

During the week, a number of activities were held across HMC facilities under the theme: “I love clean hands.” Infection control practitioners set up educational booths in the hospitals and shared information about hand hygiene with visitors, patients, and staff, encouraging them to play their role in helping to create an infection-free environment.

CIPC teams also conducted visits to patient clinical areas in different units to discuss new ideas and methods of promoting hand hygiene.

As part of the visits, healthcare workers and patients had an opportunity to learn about current infection control measures and answer questions about them. Prizes were awarded to those who answered the highest number of questions correctly.

Other activities hosted included educational lectures and a board design competition for infection control teams at different hospitals which highlighted the best HMC-wide strategies and measures to avert the risks of infection. 

Dr Jameela al-Ajmi, chairperson of the Infection Prevention and Control Week (IPC) at HMC and senior consultant IPC Programme, said: “The IPC Week 2014 showcases our commitment to delivering the safest, most effective and most compassionate care to each and every one of our patients. Our efforts are guided by the importance of increasing awareness of innovative tools, methods, and ways of controlling the spread of infection and antibiotic resistance among healthcare workers, patients,visitors and others.”

“Through this campaign, everyone within the hospital setting is encouraged to communicate with each other and celebrate best practice to reduce the risk of infections that negatively affect a patient’s health. It also plays a significant role in increasing quality of care and the culture of patient safety at an organisation,” Dr al-Ajmi said.