Aspetar gets accreditation from WHO on patient safety

Aspetar, the orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital, has been awarded the Patient Safety Friendly Hospital (PSFH) Level 3 Accreditation. The World Health Organisation Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (WHO/EMRO) adminsters the accreditation in partnership with Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health (MoPH). 

After a rigorous process of self-assessment, external assessment and implementation for the last 18 months, Aspetar joins five other hospitals that have achieved this accreditation in Qatar. PSFH Initiative (PSFHI) report notes “There is a strong commitment to patient safety by the hospital’s leadership with a dedicated and motivated quality and patient safety team.”Dr Mohamed Ghaith al-Kuwari, acting director general, Aspetar, said, “Patient safety is our number one priority and this accreditation is testimony to Aspetar’s world-class nurses, physicians and general medical staff who ensure that the athletes who pass through our doors are treated in a safe environment. Aspetar has always placed great emphasis on patient safety and done so in accordance with the highest and safest international standards and practices”.This accreditation cements the hospital’s standing as an elite health provider locally, regionally and internationally, particularly in the field of sports medicine. It also brings Aspetar a step closer towards its vision of being a “global leader in sports medicine and exercise science by 2020”.In 2014, the then-Supreme Council of Health (now the Ministry of Public Health) partnered with the WHO/EMRO to implement the PSFHI in selected local hospitals in alignment with the Qatar National Health Strategy.The PSFHI assessment is based on a review of 140 patient safety standards covering five core areas including Leadership & Management, Patient & Public Involvement, Safe Evidence-Based Clinical Practice, Safe Environment & Lifelong Learning. Across these five areas, the standards are then subdivided into three categories – 14.3% critical (compulsory), 64.3% core, and 21.4% developmental.Aspetar’s multi-disciplinary approach provides patients with comprehensive treatment plans designed to ensure a safe and quick recovery. The hospital utilises the best available technologies to support patients, including advanced electronic systems to store patient records and order medication. The PSFHI was established in 2006 by the WHO/EMRO to improve patient safety practices among healthcare providers around the world.