Hospital awarded Customer Service Team of the Year and recognized by SEHA for transformational event

Abu Dhabi, UAE: 23 August, 2011- Mafraq Hospital, which is owned and operated by the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company PJSC (SEHA), has won the 2011 International Business Awards for the category 'Customer Service Team of the Year' in recognition of its innovative Mafraq Ambassadors program. In the same week the hospital was also recognized by SEHA as the highest scorer for its transformational event on adopting the EFQM Excellence model to create an organizational culture of quality and excellence amongst all employees. These awards follow on from the recent Diamond Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award.

The International Business Awards (also known as the Stevie Awards) were created to honor and generate public recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of organizations and working people worldwide. Mafraq Hospital beat international organizations and companies from around the world to win the Customer Service Team of the Year 2011 award and will be honored at a ceremony in Abu Dhabi on October 2011. Mafraq Ambassadors is the hospital's Customer Service program which makes every one of its 2000 plus employees a Mafraq Ambassador who practices Customer Service Excellence.

Amanda Banham, Director of Marketing & PR, Mafraq Hospital and responsible for the Mafraq Ambassadors program said: 'We are delighted to have won recognition for Mafraq Ambassadors. Our Mafraq Ambassadors program is built on four disciplines fundamental to customer service excellence and first-rate patient care:  Courtesy, Attention, Respect and Enthusiasm and 85% of our employees have now attended workshops on the program. Training is adapted to suit the many cultures and nationalities we have and sessions include guidance on how to respect a patient's privacy; awareness of customers' diverse cultural needs; and how to explain procedures in a simple and straightforward manner to minimize anxiety and misunderstanding. Customer Service mapping was also conducted to establish the different touch points for customers and the challenges faced. '

An annual survey of 1150 patients was conducted by an outside organization for 2010 and the results show 86% inpatient, and 83% outpatient, satisfaction levels. Monthly surveys are also conducted, analyzed and shared with hospital management. When asked if they would refer friends and family to Mafraq Hospital, 86.8% of patients said yes in Quarter 1 2011.

Small touches such as golf carts to take patients from the car park to the hospital have helped the Mafraq Ambassadors program, as have water coolers in all waiting areas, concierge desks in the main reception areas and easy instructions on how to provide feedback.

As part of the SEHA initiative to raise the bar on reporting of Transformational Events, Mafraq Hospital was also recognized last week for its adoption of the EFQM model to enhance the Quality and Excellence culture in the organization. When Bumrungrad International started its 4 year management contract in 2007, many areas were identified that required improvement and this has resulted in a number of significant changes.  Methods were adopted to measure the organizational culture and the EFQM framework was introduced, which meant assessing the organization against the nine criteria (32 sub criteria) of the EFQM model.

Hal Chilton, Acting CEO Mafraq hospital said of the recognition: 'Our EFQM assessment highlighted the many strengths, as well as areas where further improvement was potentially required. We have built these changes into the way we do things at Mafraq Hospital and are using all the tools at our disposal on our journey to excellence.'

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About Mafraq Hospital
Mafraq Hospital was established in 1983 and is one of the largest tertiary referral treatment hospitals in the United Arab Emirates, with 451 beds. Its specialist services include medicine, obstetrics, pediatrics, as well as surgical and critical care services.  Mafraq Hospital operates the largest burn unit in the country and is a Center of Excellence for ENT and Thoracic surgery. The hospital also operates two primary healthcare clinics at Bani Yas and Al Nahda. Mafraq Hospital is part of the SEHA HealthSystem and is owned and operated by Abu Dhabi Health Services Company PJSC (SEHA) which is responsible for the curative activities of the public hospitals and clinics of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.   It is managed by Bumrungrad International (BIL), one of the most noted hospital management companies in Asia.  Mafraq Hospital physicians are amongst the best in their specialist fields with international qualifications and world class expertise. The medical staff is supported by a capable and professional nursing and paramedical staff who are well trained and motivated to provide quality healthcare services. Emiratization is extremely important to Mafraq Hospital and many of the hospital's highly skilled physicians are UAE Nationals. The hospital believes strongly in customer service excellence and trains all its employees to be Mafraq Ambassadors so the hospital can provide quality healthcare with integrity and service excellence in a caring environment. www.mafraqhospital.ae

About the SEHA HealthSystem and the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company PJSC (SEHA)
SEHA is health in Arabic.  The Abu Dhabi Health Services Company PJSC - whose marketing identity is SEHA - is an independent, public joint stock company created to develop the curative activities of the public healthcare system in Abu Dhabi. The company owns and operates all the public hospitals and clinics of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi which together make up the SEHA HealthSystem.  SEHA is committed to providing high quality, cost effective healthcare in a socially responsible way on par with international standards measured through accessibility, affordability, choice and satisfaction.  SEHA has partnered with internationally recognized hospital managers to achieve these goals.  These include Johns Hopkins Medicine International, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, VAMED, Vienna Medical University and Bumrungrad International.  SEHA owns and operates 12 hospitals with 2,644 beds, 62 ambulatory care, family care and urgent care centers and 2 blood banks.  SEHA is one of the largest integrated healthcare providers in the Middle East with 16,500 doctors, nurses, ancillary care and administrative personnel in its employ.  For more information, visit www.seha.ae.

For media information contact:
Amanda Banham
Director of Marketing & PR
Mafraq Hospital
T: +971 2 5012443
E: abanham@mafraqhospital.ae

© Press Release 2011