WISH brings its expertise to international congress on patient safety in India

The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), a global initiative of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), will showcase its research and development programmes at the fifth International Congress on Patient Safety to be held in Bangalore, India.

Taking place on October 16 to 17, the annual conference places patient safety at the top of its agenda, a key focus area for WISH as it works towards realising QF’s vision of fostering human potential, placing Qatar at the frontline of productive change in the region and becoming a healthcare role model for the broader international community.

WISH will participate in the Congress by facilitating a breakout session focusing on ‘The Sector-wide Importance of Patient Safety’. At thethree-hour session, WISH will highlight its work from the past year and will provide an overview of the WISH report ‘Transforming Patient Safety: A Sector-Wide Systems Approach’.

WISH will also showcase its one-year programme entitled Leading Health Systems Network- (LHSN), which convenes health systems from five continents on patient safety to share insights and compare performance on patient safety. Resident expertise at Sidra Medical and Research Center (SMRC) will also be highlighted by Dr Timothy McDonald, Inaugural Chair of Anesthesiology and Medical Director of Quality and Safety at SMRC, who is building a world-class patient safety system.  WISH was invited to play a key role in the Congress by Apollo Hospitals, India’s largest private hospital chain and an active member of LHSN. Egbert Schillings, WISH CEO, said: “Through WISH, QF has created an unparalleled network of global and local patient safety experts and we are proud to share this expertise both abroad and at home. Being asked by Apollo to bring our research and experts to their distinguished Patient Safety Congress is testament to the success of our work.”

“We are also delighted to be given the opportunity to present Sidra’s continued efforts in being a model of patient safety design and culture. Delegates will see just how dynamic and innovative the health care system is in Qatar, and its commitment to delivering safe and high quality care,” he added.

Speaking about his participation at the Congress, Dr Timothy McDonald said: “I am honored to be supported by WISH and for being invited to speak at the Congress to highlight our health systems research outcomes related to patient, family and provider engagement. As one of the architects of the ‘Communication and Optimal Resolution’ [CANDOR] project, which is funded by the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, I look forward to discussing and sharing many of these proven best practice tools with the assistance of WISH.”

WISH is also set to launch the CareReport app for patient safety incident reporting. The app is designed to limit the barriers to staff-reported events and provide a frugal reporting platform in resource-poor environments. The app has been developed from its prototype stage into a fully functional app, and WISH will display it at the Congress with an aim to launch it for use across selected wards in Apollo Hospitals. The International Congress on Patient Safety is a collaborative effort by all stakeholders to share their experiences in patient safety and contribute with their knowledge, innovations and best practices.

The conference is attended by influential delegates from around the world, including health system executives, clinical leaders, policy makers, NGOs and patient representatives. Among the delegates will be Dr Mike Durkin, the National Director of Patient Safety at National Health Service (NHS) England, who will provide insight into how the NHS approaches patient safety across the UK’s vast health system.