The Health Care Accreditation Council (HCAC) received a delegation from The Moroccan Ministry of Health last week. The delegation aimed to understand the hospital accreditation processes in Jordan to assist in institutionalizing health care quality in Morocco based on the HCAC model that applies International standards in a national environment given the uniqueness of such a model in the Middle East. The visit was facilitated by the World Health Organization (WHO) Jordan representative’s office based on its recognition of the HCAC’s value and expertise on a regional level.
The Moroccan delegation was composed of, Dr. Abdelkarim Jaafar, Head Programming of Hospital Activities, DHSA and member of the Technical Committee for Hospital Accreditation, Dr. Sanaa Ababou, Senior Programming of Hospital Activities, DHSA and a member of the Technical Committee for Hospital Accreditation and Mr. Louaziz Hassan, Expert Visitor responsible for quality of the children’s hospital in Rabat. The delegation’s aim was to become familiarized with the tools developed in the hospital accreditation framework by HCAC and to understand and gain knowledge on the forums, functions and organizations responsible. They also hoped to master and appreciate the evaluation of quality and patient safety procedures and to observe and inquire about the conduct of audits.
We can greatly benefit from the HCAC model in applying accreditation to hospitals in Morocco, stated Dr. Abdelkarim Jaafar, Head of the Moroccan delegation, “HCAC has made significant achievements in the short period since its inception particularly in the area of obtaining international accreditation for the HCAC Hospital Standards, establishment of a surveyors program and development and implementation of educational activities that support the implementation of quality standards in the health care sector. The Ministry of Health in Morocco is in the process of restructuring the health system, and quality of health services is among our top priorities therefore we are glad to get this chance to examine the Jordanian pioneering experience in accreditation represented by HCAC, and we look forward to mutual cooperation in building a solid system for accreditation in Morocco and the region as a whole with HCAC help.
The Delegation praised the certification program for hospital accreditation surveyors that HCAC is implementing as it utilizes local expertise to be quality ambassadors in their hospitals.
The Moroccan delegation visit also aims to strengthen the skills and expertise of senior Moroccan officials in hospital accreditation through learning about the HCAC’s total accreditation system developed by revising and classifying internationally accepted health facility and program standards, ensuring compliance against those standards, and granting accreditation of health care facilities and program services that meet the standards and by fostering the continuous improvement of health care services in Jordan and the region as HCAC is considered both a regional pioneer and resource.
Mrs. May Abu Hamdia, CEO of HCAC stated, “This is a great opportunity to showcase our success as a unique accreditation model that is built on international principles. Our success lies in the impact we make for patients and community and that is becoming more and more evident at our hospitals. That is why we are taking great pride in sharing our experience and knowledge with other countries and becoming a resource in the region for accreditation services. We are currently working hand in hand with MOH to achieve accreditation and we hope that cooperation with regional and Arab partners will emphasize the Jordanian accreditation model benefit the country economically as we will be participating in exporting added value services.”
Abu Hamdia Also added: “HCAC hopes to become an advisor for regional governments and private organizations on how to establish national accreditation systems and Survey Certification Programs, HCAC’s advantage is that its functions are flexible to be adapted in various countries and contexts.”
The Moroccan delegation’s visit also included meeting with several officials at the Jordanian MOH in relation to accreditation, in addition to field visits to HCAC accredited hospitals. These visits showed that the hospital standards developed by HCAC that are ISQua accredited, are a common mechanism for assessing quality and safety in healthcare facilities and services throughout the kingdom and can be applied by all sectors. The delegation praised the ability of the military sector in Jordan on their achievement of accreditation indicating this bolsters Jordan’s commitment to providing safe ad effective acre to all of its citizens. The delegation was also briefed during their field visits of the benefits attained in the accredited hospitals by reducing adverse events in ICU units, reduction in hospital stay period, reduction in preventable health care mistakes in addition to other parameters used to access the success of quality measures implementation.
