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Tribune News Network
Doha
THE Joint Commission International (JCI) has recently reaccredited Hamad Medical Corporation's Ambulance Service for the third time following an elaborate and intensive inspection process.
This achievement means HMC's Ambulance Service is now part of a very small group of ambulance services across the world holding this prestigious accreditation.
"JCI is one of the leading healthcare accreditation organisations in the world and our achievement sends a clear message to our patients endorsing the quality and safety of our service,'' said Dr Robert Owen, chief executive officer of the Ambulance Service.
This is the third time the Ambulance Service has been accredited by JCI, having first received this award in 2011 and with subsequent reaccreditation in 2014. Accreditation provides a report card for the public, offering an objective evaluation of an organisation's performance.
"In previous JCI Medical Transport Organization assessments, the Ambulance Service was required to meet 73 standards. This latest assessment was by far the most stringent appraisal of quality and safety in the service's history, with 134 standards and 479 measurable elements,'' Dr Owen stated.
In the three years since the previous JCI accreditation, the Ambulance Service has made significant improvements in a wide range of areas, as Ali Darwish, assistant executive director of the service explained:"As an Ambulance Service we are on a continual journey to provide the very highest standards of emergency response care to the people of Qatar. Our recent advances include the introduction of high-tech major incident vehicles and 4x4s customised for desert response, as well as the full rollout of dispatch points across the country."
''We have also introduced advanced technology systems such as our telemetry system which allows paramedics to transmit vital information quickly to the hospitals for heart attack patients,'' said Darwish.
These achievements have been made while caring for an increasing number of patients each year.
