The Ministry of Health and Prevention, MoHAP, recently announced that Al Qassimi Hospital in Sharjah has received the advanced international accreditation as a centre of excellence for bariatric surgery from the Joint Commission International (JCI).
Al Qassimi Hospital Sharjah is the world’s first hospital to receive this prestigious award from outside the US. This comes as part of MoHAP’s constant efforts to apply the national indicator standards for accredited health facilities, in line with its strategy aimed at building quality and safety for therapeutic, healthcare, and pharmaceutical systems according to international standards, thus boosting the UAE’s competitive position in the health field.
The rigorous assessment was made via a virtual tour by an international expert to departments of surgery, laboratories, and outpatient clinics using digital applications, specialized cameras, and precision audio systems.
This process aims to verify the approach adopted by the hospital and evaluate performance indicators used by doctors and medical teams to constantly evaluate their performance and develop their skills.
And as part of the process, the assessment team met with a number of patients who expressed their satisfaction with the healthcare provided, thanking MoHAP and the hospital staff for their efforts to deliver outstanding healthcare services.
Well-deserved accomplishment
Commending the well-deserved accomplishment, HE Dr. Youssif Al Serkal, Director-General of the Emirates Health Services Corporation said: “AL Qassimi Hospital is one of the UAE’s eminent medical edifices that have achieved remarkable successes in complex and rare medical surgeries, including obesity and cardiac robotic surgeries, thanks to the hospital’s distinctive national and resident medical teams.
“MoHAP has well-tailored accreditation-related plans and programmes based on boosting innovation and applying the best internationally recognized standards and protocols,” he noted.
“This achievement underlines the success of MoHAP’s plans to establish and develop qualified centers of excellence to obtain accreditation from international bodies, by providing "specialized" medical services in accordance with international best practices. It also reinforces the UAE’s globally leading position in terms of the number of accredited health facilities,”
“Such prestigious awards boost the confidence at the local and international levels in the outstanding health service offered by healthcare facilities in the UAE,” Al Serkal concluded.
International accreditation standards
Lauding the efforts of the management and medical teams, Dr. Kalthoum Al Baloushi, Director of MoHAP’s Hospitals Administration said that this award is an international recognition that MoHAP is committed to applying the best international standards of medical and administrative quality in health facilities, calling the technical cadre to remain committed to implementing the best healthcare standards in the service of patients.
“The requirements for the advanced international accreditation for bariatric surgery include quality and patient safety, international goals to support patient’s rights and duties, drug management and the safety of surgeries,” she explained.
Al Baloushi pointed out among the accreditation requirements is year-long post-discharge care and support, in addition to engaging patients in the treatment process.
Thanking and appreciating the efforts made by the medical and technical cadres, Dr. Arif Al Nooryani, the CEO and Head of the Cardiac Centre at Al Qassimi Hospital, emphasised the hospital’s commitment to providing the best healthcare standards in different specialties, underlining that such achievements greatly encourage the medical teams at the hospital to work harder in order to consolidate the UAE’s outstanding position in healthcare services in accordance with international indicators.
It is worth noting that Al Qassimi Hospital Sharjah has received several international awards, including the JCI accreditation for health facilities in the Middle East and North Africa in 2018.