Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Center for Patient Experience and Staff Engagement (CPESE) recently concluded its eighth annual Stars of Excellence awards ceremony, recognising staff across the organisation for their contribution to healthcare improvement.
Out of a total of 480 healthcare improvement projects submitted by employees from across HMC, 28 submissions received awards for achievements in the categories of health, education, and research. HMC’s Nesma’ak customer service programme was the winner of the Managing Director’s Special Award and the Star of Excellence Award in the Patient Experience category. Nesma’ak, which was launched in 2016, aims to provide patients and the public with excellent service across all HMC customer touchpoints, such as the call center, website, and in-hospital helpdesk queries. It also aims to offer patients an easy and effective way to ask questions, address concerns, and provide comments about the care they have received.
A number of awards were presented in the health category. The Collaborative Approach to Weaning project, which won the Clinical Practice Star of Excellence Award, detailed a programme that saw the successful weaning (gradual reduction) of patients reliant on assisted breathing apparatus, such as mechanical ventilation and tracheostomy (breathing) tubes so that they could lead more independent and better quality lives.
The Fight Sepsis using the Bundle project, which was implemented in all suspected sepsis patients at the Enaya Specialized Care Center, won the Quality and Patient Safety Star of Excellence Award. Implementation of the project successfully reduced the number of complications and deaths resulting from sepsis – a life-threatening condition that arises when the body’s response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs.
In addition, the Healthcare Coordination Service – Improving Access to Effective Care project received the Collaborative Achievement Star of Excellence Award for improved Ambulance Service information and process management, while the Automation of HMC Warehouses through Oracle E-Business Suite project won the Operational Performance Star of Excellence for improved supply chain and warehouse management.
In the Education Award category, the Star of Excellence Award went to the Transformation and Maturation of Trauma Care in Qatar project for improving trauma and critical care capability at HMC, while the Star of Excellence Award in the Research category went to the Novel Biomarker for Early Detection of Dementia project, which focuses on research around a simple eye test as an indicator in the early diagnosis of dementia.
