Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC)Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC)

The Centre for Healthcare Improvement, launched yesterday, "will take big steps in improving HMCHMC's services to patients and developing the healthcare sector in Qatar," said its director Dr Hanan Al Kuwari, addressing a news conference. "It is a profound and important step, with tangible steps planned," she added.

As the first major step under the new center HMCHMC will soon launch a "no delay initiative," to eliminate delays in waiting time for an outpatient appointment, waiting for a bed, or waiting for surgery as well as administrative delays.

"This is one of the priority areas of the Center and we will start working on this project from next week," Al Kuwari told The Peninsula later.

She said the Center for Healthcare Improvement is the first of its kind in the region with the sole purpose of improving patient care. The Center will be a dedicated space with resources and staff through which improvement projects can be developed and implemented.

Individual departments within HMCHMC will develop proposals for improvements in healthcare in any area of work where there is a clear need for them.

"The Centre will improve patient care through programs of work and special projects that might include improving patient care environments. This will involve making changes to the physical environment that directly improve the way we deliver care to our patients," said Hanan.

For example, a department could submit a proposal to change the function of a room to a waiting area to reduce the number of people standing in a corridor. Another example is the no delays initiative being launched by HMCHMC.

The Centre will be located in the Women's Hospital premises. It started work yesterday, but a formal opening is expected after the summer holidays. Once opened, the Centre will boast of state of the art facilities conducive to learning and innovation.

"This is a key step in realizing our strategic vision of achieving international recognition as a world-class quality health care provider, and is the first such Center to be launched in the Gulf region. But this is more than a building. This is the beginning of a journey which will see HMCHMC transform the way in which it delivers patient care through a commitment to continuous improvement," said HMCHMC chairperson Dr Latifa Al Houti.

As part of the initiative, HMCHMC has launched a series of internal seminars with participation of international experts. Senior specialist staff of HMCHMC, and guest speakers from WCMC-Q, Partners Harvard Medical International (Boston USA), and the Joint Commission International (JCI) will be addressing staff on relevant topics.

Prof Andrejs Zamurs, assistant managing director, HMCHMC, Nasser Al Naomi, assistant executive director, managing director's office and Dr Badriya Al Ali from the Quality Management Department were also present at the press conference.

© The Peninsula 2008

 

Community Comments (1) - Comment on this article

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by The Insider, Cihief, HMC - 14-May-08
Lots of new initiatives at Hamad....and most initiatives remain initiatives only. As usual the pay remains feeble with rising inflation (Qatar has the highest inflation in the gulf compared to all other gulf states. Unless action is taken soon the present poor quality would deteriorate soon. [Report Abuse | Email to a Friend | Reply to this Comment]

 

 

 

 

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