Forty medical and nursing staff, technicians and management, will participate in an online-learning programme developed by Seha, which is designed to enhance skills and knowledge of patient safety best practices.

The programme was developed in collaboration with Johns Hopkins’ Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality and Johns Hopkins Medicine International (JHI), the global arm of Baltimore, US-based Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM), as part of an agreement that was signed in January 2012.

“Whenever patients entrust their care to us, they have the right to expect an excellent standard of health care, delivered in a safe and efficient manner,” said Dr Ali Abdul Kareem Al Obaidli, chief clinical officer, clinical affairs division, Seha.  

“Seha is committed to providing the best healthcare services to the patients of the UAE. JHI and the Armstrong Institute are well-known for their successful track record in working with medical institutions in the United States and around the world to improve the safety of patient care. We believe that our joint work is essential to our commitment and success in this area,” he said.

Participants will learn how to identify patient safety risks posed by a complex healthcare delivery system and how to integrate safety principles into their day-to-day activities as a team, a statement from Seha said.

In addition to the online programme, physicians, nursing staff and senior leadership from Seha’s health facilities will participate in patient safety workshops led by a team of experts from the Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality during an on-site visit.  

The workshops will focus on how to improve patient care and teamwork and safety culture to eliminate preventable harm. Armstrong Institute faculty members Sean Berenholtz, MD; and Chris Goeschel, Sc D; international project manager Hanan Edrees, MHSA; and Bernadette Kelly Clinical Quality Manager, Seha; will lead the on-site workshops.    

“Like Johns Hopkins, SEHA is clearly committed to improving patient safety and advancing the science of how to deliver health care safely,” said Peter Pronovost, MD, PhD, senior vice president for patient safety and quality, JHM, and director of the Armstrong Institute. “We are delighted to have the opportunity to share our knowledge and expertise with our colleagues in the UAE.”

The Armstrong Institute is internationally known for the development of a five-step checklist that, coupled with a programme of culture-change in intensive care units, can dramatically reduce the number of central line-associated bloodstream infections.  

This programme — already implemented across the US, in Puerto Rico, Spain and the UK — is believed to have saved thousands of lives and millions of healthcare dollars. - TradeArabia News Service