Tribune News Network
Doha
The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), in collaboration with Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC), and various healthcare facilities in Qatar, organised a slew of events and activities during Qatar Infection Prevention and Control Week, which ran from October 15 to 21 under the theme ‘Celebrating the fundamentals of infection prevention’.
Some of these activities will continue in healthcare facilities until the end of October.
The aim of the celebration was to emphasise the importance of infection prevention over the past decades and inspire the next generation of infection prevention experts and healthcare workers to join the fight for a safer world. This event coincided with International Infection Prevention Week, observed in the third week of October each year.
This year’s focus was on returning to the basics of infection prevention, promoting efforts to encourage the application of best practices in health care, celebrating the efforts of healthcare professionals in reducing infection risks, and promoting safe care for all members of society by healthcare workers.
The MoPH organised a virtual symposium during this event. Huda Al Katheeri, director of the Strategic Planning, Performance and Innovation Department at the ministry, opened the symposium by expressing gratitude to healthcare workers for their efforts in healthcare settings to maintain patient safety. She highlighted the importance of promoting infection prevention and control concepts at healthcare facilities and spreading the culture of infection prevention and control in the community to raise awareness among healthcare service users about their role in protecting themselves and others from infection.
Dr Benedetta Allegranzi, a representative of the World Health Organization, spoke at the symposium and emphasised the importance of the Global Strategy on Infection Prevention and Control, adopted during the Seventy-sixth World Health Assembly in May 2023.
Dr Jameela Al Ajmi, executive director of Corporate Infection Prevention and Control at HMC, and Dhouha Hamdani, the lead of the National Infection Prevention and Control Programme at the MoPH, provided an overview of the achievements in infection prevention and control.
Dr Khalid Al-Awad, director of Health Protection at the Preventive Health at the PHCC, shared PHCC’s experience in infection control, while Dr Amal Saif Al-Maani, senior consultant in Paediatric Infectious Diseases & Infection Prevention and Control at the Omani Ministry of Health, shared the experience of the Sultanate of Oman and the region’s most important achievements in infection prevention and control.
The seminar concluded with an intervention by Dr Hayat Khogaly, vaccination supervisor at the MoPH, discussing the importance of vaccinations for the public and healthcare workers.
The seminar witnessed the participation of about 1,000 specialists and healthcare providers from government, semi-government and private sectors, university professors, students from faculties of medicine, nursing, pharmacy and health sciences, as well as health professionals from the Sultanate of Oman. It included discussions to establish the principles of infection prevention and control as a constant pillar in providing clean and safe care at all times.
The celebration included several awareness activities on the importance of infection prevention and control. A virtual awareness campaign broadcasted messages through social media to raise awareness on infection prevention and control, in cooperation with all partners in the health sector. Activities such as awareness competitions, educational lectures and field visits by the National Infection Control Team were part of the event, emphasising that infection prevention and control are not additional secondary practices but the way health care is provided in Qatar.
The awareness campaign carried out by the Healthcare Quality Department at the MoPH during Qatar Infection Prevention and Control Week received substantial engagement from all healthcare facilities in Qatar. It reflects the ministry’s commitment to enhancing the role individuals can play in the health and safety of the community.
Qatar Infection Prevention and Control Week is a national initiative launched by the MoPH through the Healthcare Quality Department. Its aim is to raise awareness and spread infection prevention and control concepts among healthcare providers and the public in Qatar as part of International Infection Prevention Week.
