Global Patient Safety Challenge to be launched at SQU today

Muscat - The sultanate, represented by the Ministry of Health and Sultan Qaboos University in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), will launch the third ‘Global Patient Safety Challenge: Medication without Harm’ on Sunday.

The event will be held at Sultan Qaboos University under the patronage of H E Dr Rawiyah bint Saud al Busaidiyah, Minister of Higher Education, in the presence of a number of ministers and undersecretaries. Other participants who will participate include senior officials in the Ministry of Health (MoH) and those dealing with patient safety and medication, along with representatives from related institutions and agencies at national and regional levels.

The WHO’s global challenges on patient safety are initiatives aimed at introducing improvements in health systems to reduce risks in health services, a press release stated.

The first challenge held in 2005 was called ‘Clean Care is Safer Care’, and the second one in 2008 was titled, ‘Safe Surgery Saves Lives’.

The third challenge was officially launched by WHO in Bonn, Germany, in March with participation of the sultanate, represented by the Minister of Health.

During the meeting held in Bonn, the organisation chose Oman to launch this challenge in the Eastern Mediterranean re- gion due to its good reputation.

This meeting is the first launch for this challenge in the six regions.

The third challenge aims at reducing the harm caused by unsafe practices and medication errors.

It focuses on improving the safety of medication by strengthening the systems required for reducing such errors.

The challenge coincides with the celebration of the first Annual World Patient Safety Day, that was allocated based on Oman’s proposal to WHO, which recently has been ap- proved to be on September 17 every year.

The launch ceremony will include honouring the health institutions participating in the WHO Patient Safety Friendly Hospital Initiative (PSFHI) which are Nizwa, Rustaq, Starcare and Al Raffah hospitals.

MoH launched PSFHI in 2016 and prepared a plan to cover all public and private hospitals in the sultanate by the end of 2018.

Due to the importance of this high-level event in the sultanate, MoH, represented by the Directorate General of Quality Assurance Centre and other MoH directorates and in collaboration with the SQU, has made all the preparations. In addition, a main committee was formed consisting of sub-committees related to various organisational, administrative and media matters.

WHO’s global challenges on patient safety are initiatives aimed at introducing improvements in health systems to reduce risks