Aster recognised for delivering ‘safe care’
The recognition for Aster Al Raffah Hospital stems from the Patient Safety Friendly Hospital Initiative undertaken by the World Health Organisation and the Directorate for Quality Assurance Center in the Oman Ministry of Health
MUSCAT: Aster Al Raffah Hospital is now recognised as the first private hospital delivering safe care.
The recognition stems from the Patient Safety Friendly Hospital Initiative (PSFHI) undertaken by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Directorate for Quality Assurance Center (DGQAC) in the Oman Ministry of Health (MoH).
Aster Al Raffah Hospital is one of the leading hospitals in Oman, and provides the residents of Muscat with a wide range of specialities and services, along with being a firm believer and propagator of very high standards of patient safety. The Patient Safety Friendly Hospital Initiative involved the implementation of a set of patient safety standards needed for the establishment of a patient safety programme at the hospital level. In addition, was achieved by conducting an assessment for compliance with standards, and making recommendations to achieve the required standards of safety and safe practices.
Seeniya Biju, CEO of Aster Al Raffah Hospitals and Clinics, said “Our constant work to ensure that our patients are treated to the highest safety standards has been validated through the recognition that we have received from the Patient Safety Friendly Hospital Initiative. Our specialist doctors, nurses and hospital staff have always placed utmost importance on patient safety and we pride ourselves on being the first private hospital to be accredited for delivering safe care. Aster Al Raffah Hospital will continue to align itself with all the safety standards initiated by the Oman Ministry of Health, thereby ensuring the holistic treatment and recovery of all our patients.”
Patient safety
Worldwide, at all hospitals and clinics, patient safety is one of the most important areas of focus. Unsafe healthcare practices can not only have a detrimental effect on the health of patients but can also have a substantial impact on the economy, since expenditures increase when patients are harmed due to unsafe medical practices. The Directorate for Quality Assurance Center in the Ministry of Health considers patient safety as one of the priorities in which the services delivered to patients must be safe and up to the international standards.
The PSFHI helps to build a patient safety culture within hospitals, identify gaps in the current practices related to patient safety, and provide solutions to the same. It provides institutions with a means to determine the level of patient safety; either for the purpose of establishing a patient safety program or assessing the on-going programme.
According to Dr Ashik Sainu, medical director at Aster Al Raffah Oman, “A high standard of patient safety forms the backbone of the quality of care that we have been providing since 2009. It is important for us as a medical institution to impart standards that will allow our current and future patients to have complete trust, and faith in our personnel and our practices. And we aim to continue setting the standards for quality practices and patient safety in Oman.”
Over the last eight years, Aster Al Raffah Hospital has continued to expand on its services and facilities every year, all the while maintaining strict patient safety standards, enabling it to become a benchmark in patient safety across Oman. The voluntary participation of Aster Al Raffah Hospital to get its patient safety standards assessed, serves to show the commitment that the hospital has undertaken to always placing the safety of their patients as their topmost priority.