DOHA: Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) held an ‘Infection and Prevention Control (IPC) Week 2014’, to raise awareness among staff and patients about latest international best practices for infection control within a healthcare environment.
It was led by the new Corporate Infection Prevention and Control Programme (CIPC) team. The CIPC aims to develop effective infection control practices to drive continuous quality improvement within the organisation. Such practices can prevent the spread of hospital-acquired infections due to blood or other bodily fluids.
Activities were held across HMC facilities under the theme ‘I love clean hands.’ Infection control practitioners set up educational booths in hospitals and shared information about hand hygiene with visitors, patients, and staff, encouraging them to help create an infection-free environment.
CIPC teams also visited patient clinical areas at units to discuss ideas and methods of promoting hand hygiene. Healthcare workers and patients had an opportunity to learn about infection control measures and answer questions. Prizes were awarded to entrants who answered the highest number of questions correctly.
Other activities included educational lectures and a board design competition for infection control teams at hospitals, highlighting the best HMC-wide strategies and measures to avert infection risks.
Dr Jameela Al Ajmi, Chairperson, Infection Prevention and Control Week (IPC) at HMC, and Senior Consultant, IPC Programme, said, “Through the campaign, everyone within the hospital setting was encouraged to communicate with each other and celebrate best practice to reduce the risk of infections that negatively affect a patient’s health.
“It also plays a role in increasing quality of care and the culture of patient safety in an organisation,” Dr Al Ajmi added.
The Peninsula
