Emerging as the first hospital in the Sultanate to win the prestigious Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation in recognition of high quality healthcare standard, Muscat Private Hospital positions itself as one of Muscat's premier private medical facilities. An OER report
Marking an important milestone in Oman's health care sector, Muscat Private Hospital (MPH) became the first hospital in the country to be accredited by the prestigious US-based Joint Commission International (JCI). The accreditation was awarded to the hospital following a rigorous on-site evaluation by an international surveyor team of healthcare experts.
"Being the first hospital in the Sultanate to get the JCI accreditation means a lot for us," says Murad Soner Kucukkaya, hospital administrator. "Through this accreditation the JCI tells the people that we are safe and we operate based on certain topnotch standards. It demonstrates that we are accomplishing our mission of becoming the leading provider of healthcare in the Sultanate. We believe that this very important designation reaffirms our commitment to the community as we accord top priority to ensure our patients' safety and to provide quality healthcare services". Murad urges other hospitals in Oman to try to get the accreditation as it will add to the quality of healthcare services in the country. "We believe in healthcare professionalism. That is why I want all other hospitals in the country to get the accreditation so that it will be the society that will benefit at the end of the day. If every hospital pushes them up, the health care system gets better in the country."
"It is really a proud moment and it shows a visible commitment towards quality and culture of excellence promised by MPH", adds Rozmin Nizar Punjani, quality education manager. "The accreditation testifies to our commitment to reduce the medical errors and infection rates, and to improve the safety and quality of patient care. The evaluation has been a two-year process where we attached top priority to ensure a safe care environment and to reduce risks to patients and the staff. We set up the policies to comply with 14 chapters of Joint Commission and had a rigorous training programme to implement them practically. Intensive training and awareness programmes were done for the entire staff and we did internal audits also."
Says Dr Mohammad Al Obaid, head of ER, "It involved a lot of complicated processes which includes how you enroll a patient in the hospital, how you are recruiting your staff, how you keep your medicines updated and how you employ different diagnoses etc."
The surveyors spent four days interviewing staff and hospital leaders on policies and procedures, looking in detail at hospital care for individual patients. In addition, they surveyed each department individually. The physical plant of the hospital, equipment and services were subjected to evaluation. Focus was also placed on aspects such as patient safety, patient rights, medication management, policies and procedures, surgical infection and credentialing of medical staff and nurses, leadership of the organisation among many others.
© Oman Economic Review 2012
