WISH Participates in Fifth Middle East Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare

The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) recently participated in the Middle East Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare 2017, organized by Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) in collaboration with the United States-based Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI).

At the forum, which was held on May 5 – 7 at the Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC), members of the WISH team guided event delegates through details of a variety of WISH’s evidence-based research projects that focus on positively impacting on healthcare.

Mr. Egbert Schillings, CEO of WISH, an initiative of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), gave a presentation at a special session that launched the Qatar Public Health Strategy 2017-22 Consultation – a survey created by Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health that invites feedback on public health issues in Qatar. During his speech, Mr. Schillings urged the public to take an active role in the task of improving the nation’s health by completing the first-of-its-kind survey. He pointed out that creating a healthier society in Qatar should not be viewed as solely the responsibility of those working in the healthcare sector, but that individual members of society should also play their part.

Commenting on the importance of community engagement in improving the health of Qatar’s population, Mr. Schillings said: “What we have seen over and over again is that local employers, schools, community organizations, and individuals are eager and ready to make a positive impact on the population’s health.

“Encouraging wide-ranging community engagement is a crucial element of Qatar’s aim of creating a healthy population in the long-term. The factors that determine a population’s health are numerous and intertwined; health is shaped by the conditions in which we are born, grow, live, work, play, and age. We are all co-creators of our health and the public cannot be passive in developing a strong health strategy.”

This year’s Middle East Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare was attended by nearly 3,000 healthcare professionals from Qatar and the GCC, and offered more than 50 workshops, plenaries, lectures, and a poster competition.

The Qatar Public Health Strategy 2017-2022 survey can be accessed through https://phs.moph.gov.qa