Last month, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) announced the accreditation of 13 of its facilities and services by the Joint Commission International (JCI), including the re-accreditation of three of its general hospitals – Al Khor Hospital, The Cuban Hospital and Al Wakra Hospital. 
As part of the re-accreditation, a team of JCI surveyors evaluated a number of areas ranging from patient satisfaction to performance improvements and efficiency. Now, an official has revealed that the survey report findings indicate HMC’s general hospitals are on a par with the world’s best hospitals.
In 2016, HMC made history becoming the first healthcare organisation in the world to have all its hospitals qualified under the JCI Academic Medical Centre accreditation programme. Since this time, HMC’s general hospitals have undergone considerable growth, both in terms of the number of patients treated and the services offered. 
Al Khor Hospital chief executive officer Mohamed al-Jusaiman says amid expanding patient needs, HMC’s general hospitals have continued to make quality of care and patient safety top priorities.
“In 2018, we cared for more than 350,000 patients across our emergency department, various outpatient departments and the daycare, radiology and dialysis units. In spite of increased patient numbers, we’ve continued to implement key improvement initiatives that are making a real difference to the quality of care we provide,” said al-Jusaiman, who is also deputy chief of HMC’s General Hospitals Group.
Al-Jusaiman added that one improvement initiative recently introduced led to the establishment of two new clinics, which have reduced patient wait times and improved patient experience. 
Al Wakra Hospital, which cares for patients in the south of the country, was also recognised for its role in bringing specialist services into the community setting. The country’s only dedicated burns unit was relocated to the general hospital and a number of specialised clinics, including the region’s only Urinary Stone Centre, have been established at Al Wakra Hospital.
“We are delighted to have once again achieved JCI accreditation. Since our last surveyor visit in 2016, we have expanded the quality and range of services we deliver to our patients. We’ve opened a new Admissions and Discharge Lounge to improve our patient’s care
experience and sped up the admission and discharge process,” said Dr Sabah Alkadhi, Al Wakra 
Hospital’s medical director.
“We’ve also established a Hernia Surgery Centre, which is the only internationally accredited facility in the region to offer patients robotic hernia repair, and last year we began treating patients at our new specialised Urinary Stone Centre, which is also the first of its kind in the
region. We were also chosen to be the home for HMC’s expanded Burns Unit, which has its own dedicated operating theatre as well as inpatient rooms and an occupational therapy room,” added Dr Alkadhi.
The Cuban Hospital was also acknowledged for its expansion of services which include a laser eye surgery clinic, dental speciality services, bariatric and cosmetic services, and a 24-hour translation service, which has improved communication between Arabic-speaking patients and Cuban health professionals. 
Officially opened in January 2012 as a joint project between the governments of Qatar and Cuba, The Cuban Hospital provides medical and surgical services across more than 25 specialities to patients in Dukhan, Zekreet, Sheehaniyah, Umm Bab and surrounding areas. 
Since its last JCI accreditation visit in 2016, the hospital has seen a sharp rise in the number of patients being seen, recording over 85,727 outpatient visits and 6,756 inpatient visits in 2018, compared to 63,358 outpatient visits and 4,700 inpatient visits in 2016.
Dr Angel Mario Felipe Garmendia, The Cuban Hospital’s medical director, says while the expansion of new services have been important and are noteworthy, the introduction of patient safety and prevention programmes were a major focus of the JCI inspector’s recent visit.
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