The Dubai Healthcare City Best Practice Conference 2018, the first event to present regionally-relevant patient safety initiatives and models from the UAE’s health sector was announced today.

Held under the patronage of the Chairperson of Dubai Healthcare City Authority, DHCA, HRH Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, wife of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and in partnership with the US-based Patient Safety Movement Foundation, PSMF, the Conference calls on hospitals and clinics in the UAE to share their patient safety best practices to help advance a culture of safety.

The event drives DHCA’s commitment to bring the ‘Patient Safety Movement’ to the Middle East. Globally, the movement is working towards its mission to reduce the number of preventable deaths in hospitals to zero by 2020.

The conference has three categories – Infection Control and Medication Management; Advancing a Culture of Safety; and Enhancing a Positive Environment of Care. These categories have been identified as some of the leading patient safety challenges facing hospitals today.

The best practice presentations will be evaluated by a council comprising members from UAE health authorities and international accrediting bodies.

A total of four presentations per category will be presented at the one-day conference on Sunday, 18th November 2018, in Dubai Healthcare City. These best practice submissions will be compiled for the public, representing a valuable resource for the UAE’s health sector.

Dr. Ramadan AlBlooshi, CEO, Dubai Healthcare City Authority – Regulatory, DHCR, said, “We are proud to launch the first-of-its-kind conference under the patronage of Princess Haya bint Al Hussein. The conference, which aims to advance safety in the health sector, provides a platform to identify and adopt effective mechanisms, initiatives, and policies for patient safety.”

He added, “By partnering with the Patient Safety Movement Foundation, we are encouraging clinical partners in DHCC and all healthcare facilities in the government and private sectors in the UAE to join the patient safety movement and to share their individual best practices so we can collectively improve care for our patients and positively impact quality of life.”

In the Middle East, several best practice approaches are adopted from Western countries and may not address the needs of the regional population. The Dubai Healthcare City Best Practice Conference will provide UAE-based clinical facilities a platform to share their proven best practice, and provide small-to-medium clinics with the resources and tools to learn from and implement regionally-relevant best practice in their clinical environments.

The outcome of the conference resonates with the goals of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation that has worked with leading medical experts, global leaders, and patient advocates to develop Actionable Patient Safety Solutions, APSS.

The APSS are free, evidence-based solutions developed to address the 31 leading challenges to patient safety which have been proven to prevent hospital errors and increase patient safety. More than 4,500 hospitals from 44 countries have implemented the APSS, saving over 81,533 lives in 2017 alone.

Joe Kiani, Founder of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation, said, “We cannot hope for zero preventable hospital deaths, we must take action and plan for zero. We are thrilled by the efforts of Dubai Healthcare City Authority. DHCA was the first group in the Middle East to make a public commitment through the PSMF to improve their culture of safety. By gathering to focus on patient safety and share best practices at this conference, they are setting an example for the world that reaching zero is possible.”

In November, the conference will welcome speakers from the Patient Safety Movement Foundation, Joint Commission International, and other prominent industry figures. Healthcare providers interested in participating can apply via the DHCR website. The closing date for final submissions is Wednesday, 10th October 2018.