Patient safety top priority in Oman’s health strategy

MUSCAT: The Sultanate participated in the virtual meeting of the World Health Organization 148th session of the Executive Board on Monday with a delegation led by Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed al Saeedi, Minister of Health, and First Deputy of WHO-EB.

The nine-day session of the Executive Board focuses on main pillars including one billion more people benefitting from universal coverage, one billion more people better protected from health emergencies, one billion more people enjoying better health and well-being, and more effective and efficient WHO providing better support to countries.

The meeting reviews report of the regional committees to the Executive Board and considers the recommendations and comments of the regional committees. In addition, it touches upon the report of the Programme, Budget and Administration Committee of the Executive Board as well as reports relevant to the progress achieved in the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases and the promotion of mental health.

The meeting health emergencies highlighted including preparedness and response particularly COVID-19 response where updates on activities to combat the pandemic of coronavirus (COVID-19) were provided. The board also noted a report on strengthening WHO’S global emergency preparedness and response.

Al Saeedi stated that in the context of COVID-19, patient safety was the focus of Oman’s health emergency preparedness and response, through different initiatives to minimise the risk of transmission. He added that having a wide-reaching network of primary healthcare facilities throughout the country proved to be an advantage in terms of preparedness and response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as it facilitated more streamlined triage and testing, resulting in lower transmission rates.

The health minister emphasised that patient safety is a top priority in Oman’s health strategy, since it contributes significantly to the improvement of the overall health of the population, aiming therefore to make sure that patients receive highly safe and quality health services at all healthcare facilities in Oman.

The Sultanate’s delegation further included Dr Saeed al Lamki, Director-general of Primary Healthcare, Dr Saif al Abri, Director-general of Diseases Control and Surveillance, and Dr Jumana al Abdawani, Director of International Relations and Organizations.