Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Hamad Healthcare Quality Institute together with the Corporate Quality and Patient Safety Office has partnered with the US-based Joint Commission International (JCI) to organise year-long foundational quality management workshops for HMC’s chief executive officers, senior leaders, clinicians and other frontline clinical staff.

The training, aimed to boost quality improvement initiatives across HMC, aligns closely with the corporation’s ongoing investment in quality improvement education and training for staff. This is a significant priority expressed by Minister of Public Health Dr Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari and supported by the Hamad Healthcare Quality Institute’s (HHQI) Education and Training Strategy and Corporate Quality and Patient Safety programme.

The training programme’s first session was held on 2-6 April. Participants learned about the basic principles, concepts, definitions, and methods of quality management and improvement. Sessions also covered the role of leadership in promoting quality and a culture of safety. The second workshop will be held on 21 – 26 May.

HMC’s Chief Quality Officer Dr Ronald Wyatt, explained that session participants engage in a variety of tabletop group exercises designed to use basic tools and methods of quality management. There is also an opportunity to learn how to use quality management tools. He added that each didactic session in the workshops is complemented with small group exercises to ensure participants develop competencies in applying concepts and in using methods and tools in a practical setting within their hospital or facility.

HMC Corporate Quality and Patient Safety Programme Executive Director Dr Moza Al Ishaq said that the management workshops are based on the ‘all teach, all learn’ approach. According to Dr Al Ishaq, the programme aims to provide a consistent, common, and practical understanding of quality improvement for staff across HMC while aligning with other quality education efforts. The training workshops are also intended to embed a sustainable capacity for continuous improvement throughout the organisation.

Each project team will implement a priority improvement project over six to twelve months with clear goals relating to communication, accountability, learning and sharing. To date, we have already completed the HMC-JCI workshops dedicated solely to facilitators, CEOs, senior leaders, clinicians, physicians and other healthcare workers.’

The programme is supported by HMC’s Qatar Management Education Programme (QMEP) faculty. The JCI contingent faculty includes Dr Richard Wright and Dr Mary Geary. Facilitators also include HHQI representatives, IHI/HMC Fellows and Clinical Care Improvement Training Programme coaches.

For more information, log on to their website at hamad.qa.