23 February 2013
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah thanked Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah and his staff yesterday for obtaining certificates from the US-based Joint Commission International (JCI) for 15 medical facilities and accreditation from the Central Board of Accreditation for Healthcare Institutions (CBAHI) for 50 hospitals over the past 12 months.
JCI is globally recognized as the world's pioneer in the field of health facilities accreditation.
The CBAHI accreditation standards were developed by a consensus process with health care experts from the ministry, National Guard hospitals, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSH&RC), university hospitals, private hospitals, security forces hospitals, and the Saudi Council for Health Specialties. The standard was approved by the minister of health's National Standards Preparation Committee in 2006.
In a cable addressed to the health minister, King Abdullah praised the minister and his officials.
The last hospital to get JCI accreditation was King Saud Hospital in Riyadh. A further 40 hospitals are under evaluation for the necessary accreditation.
In response to the King's message, Al-Rabeeah said: "The gesture clearly indicates his interest and concern over providing the best healthcare services for citizens and residents living in the Kingdom." The minister also thanked Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense for helping to carry out healthcare services in the Kingdom in keeping with the country's strategic national healthcare plan.
Distributing the accreditation from the CBAHI to 21 hospitals in the Kingdom recently at his headquarters in the capital, the minister urged health institutions to keep pace with the latest technological advancements in the medical field. The minister said the ministry wants to ensure the implementation of principles such as quality, accountability, and transparency. "We are also coordinating with international bodies in the United States and Canada to gain global accreditation for some of our institutions, facilities and services."
He pointed out that accreditation was not the ultimate goal but a starting point for continuous work and effort to maintain standards.
A senior official from the ministry said the accreditation marks the culmination of major efforts by these hospitals over the past 12 months, in their quest to improve health services, conform to patient-safety standards and abide by the ministry's slogan "Patient First."
Deputy Minister of Health for Planning and Development, Dr. Mohammed Khoshaim, said: "The improvement of health services provided for patients, and the promotion of patient safety, have become the ministry's top priorities and major strategic objectives."
He said all efforts have centered on the concept of quality. "The several quality programs adopted by the Ministry of Health can be seen as manifestations of officials' unshakable insistence on moving to a new phase of healthcare quality and patient safety," he added.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah thanked Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah and his staff yesterday for obtaining certificates from the US-based Joint Commission International (JCI) for 15 medical facilities and accreditation from the Central Board of Accreditation for Healthcare Institutions (CBAHI) for 50 hospitals over the past 12 months.
JCI is globally recognized as the world's pioneer in the field of health facilities accreditation.
The CBAHI accreditation standards were developed by a consensus process with health care experts from the ministry, National Guard hospitals, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSH&RC), university hospitals, private hospitals, security forces hospitals, and the Saudi Council for Health Specialties. The standard was approved by the minister of health's National Standards Preparation Committee in 2006.
In a cable addressed to the health minister, King Abdullah praised the minister and his officials.
The last hospital to get JCI accreditation was King Saud Hospital in Riyadh. A further 40 hospitals are under evaluation for the necessary accreditation.
In response to the King's message, Al-Rabeeah said: "The gesture clearly indicates his interest and concern over providing the best healthcare services for citizens and residents living in the Kingdom." The minister also thanked Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense for helping to carry out healthcare services in the Kingdom in keeping with the country's strategic national healthcare plan.
Distributing the accreditation from the CBAHI to 21 hospitals in the Kingdom recently at his headquarters in the capital, the minister urged health institutions to keep pace with the latest technological advancements in the medical field. The minister said the ministry wants to ensure the implementation of principles such as quality, accountability, and transparency. "We are also coordinating with international bodies in the United States and Canada to gain global accreditation for some of our institutions, facilities and services."
He pointed out that accreditation was not the ultimate goal but a starting point for continuous work and effort to maintain standards.
A senior official from the ministry said the accreditation marks the culmination of major efforts by these hospitals over the past 12 months, in their quest to improve health services, conform to patient-safety standards and abide by the ministry's slogan "Patient First."
Deputy Minister of Health for Planning and Development, Dr. Mohammed Khoshaim, said: "The improvement of health services provided for patients, and the promotion of patient safety, have become the ministry's top priorities and major strategic objectives."
He said all efforts have centered on the concept of quality. "The several quality programs adopted by the Ministry of Health can be seen as manifestations of officials' unshakable insistence on moving to a new phase of healthcare quality and patient safety," he added.
© Arab News 2013
