Patient safety is top priority for Ministry of Health officials. This pertains to the celebration held by the Quality and Accreditation Department of the MoH in observance of the International Day for Patient Safety, under the slogan “Medication without harm”, in the presence of the Minister of Health, Dr. Khaled Al-Saeed.
An Arab daily reported that the event was held in the lobby of the Ministry building in the Sulaibikhat area, during which Dr. Al-Saeed toured the participating pavilions in the exhibition. Also gracing the event were the various sectors of the Quality and Recognition Department.
The official spokesman for the ministry, Dr. Abdullah Al-Sanad, said “Patient Safety” is one of the newly established specialties and programs, specifically in 2004, when the Global Patient Safety Alliance was launched in over 140 countries. The alliance aims to prevent risks, harm and errors that the beneficiary of healthcare may be exposed to. He also pointed out that the World Patient Safety Day this year comes under the slogan “Medication without Harm”, and among its main objectives is to raise the level of global awareness and involve others in efforts to prevent errors in medication, reduce the harm resulting from them, and enable patients and their families to participate effectively in the safe use of medicines.
Dr. Al-Sanad is quoted in the Arab paper saying: “Patient safety comes at the top of the ministry’s priorities, reviewing the most prominent principles for enhancing the quality system and patient safety in Kuwait, which includes strengthening the quality and patient safety system in the Ministry of Health, and in all health facilities, through the application of the latest global programs and initiatives. This will enable the ministry to develop and improve the quality of the healthcare provided, and ensure the provision of safe health service to patients and their families, through quality management and accreditation programs, as well as the application of the “pharmacovigliance” (drug safety) program.”
He noted that Kuwait obtained permanent membership in the global drug safety program in April of 2021. He also emphasized the safe medical practice, and the approval of obtaining training courses for cardiopulmonary resuscitation upon employment and promotion, for doctors, technicians and members of the nursing staff.
As detailed by Ministerial Resolution No. 21 of 2019, among these courses is BLS + ACLS which was approved by the American Heart Association, and also obligating all nursing staff working in departments (accidents, operations, cardiac units, intensive care) to obtain a cardiopulmonary resuscitation course (ACLS) approved by the American Heart Association (AHA).