4 September 2024, Taizz, Yemen – In 2023, Khalifa Hospital in Taizz significantly boosted its commitment to quality health care by adding a dedicated quality team. Focusing on infection prevention and control, follow-up and evaluation, this team works with a quality committee led by the hospital director.
Established in 1989, this 220-bed capacity hospital is a vital health facility, serving a catchment area of about 1 million people. Annually, the hospital has 55 000 outpatient visits, 17 000 emergency cases and 5000 inpatient admissions.
The quality team has noticeably improved the hospital’s services. This progress was acknowledged on World Patient Safety Day, 17 September 2023. Both WHO and the Ministry of Public Health and Population celebrated the hospital for its adoption of safety protocols for surgery and childbirth. This approach underscores the facility’s commitment to enhance patient safety and quality of care.
A WHO team visited Khalifa Hospital in October 2023, as part of implementing the Emergency Human Capital Project (EHCP), and met with key health workers in the surgical and maternity departments. Dr Mazen Al-Zuberi, General Manager; Dr Abdullah Noamaan, District Health Office Manager; and Dr Abdulazeez Al-Selwi, Head of the Quality Department, shared insights into the transformative impact of adopting the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist.
This tool has significantly reduced medical errors and enhanced patient safety – a major stride towards better quality of care. Anaesthetist Dr Basheer Abbas shared the Surgical Safety Checklist’s practical benefits, emphasizing its role in identifying patients with underlying conditions that contraindicate surgery, thereby enhancing personalized patient care.
In 2023, Khalifa Hospital embarked on a crucial WHO-led training initiative, with sessions aiming to strengthen infection prevention and control practices. This pivotal effort led to significantly enhanced hand hygiene protocols and more effective use of personal protective equipment. Both will contribute to reduce health care-associated infections.
Integrating the Surgical Safety Checklist, as well as the WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist, into clinical routines substantially improves the safety of surgical and childbirth procedures. The hospital has also advanced its waste management and sterilization processes, reinforcing a safe and clean treatment environment.
The hospital expects these improvements to lead to lower maternal and neonatal mortality rates and a decrease in postsurgical complications. The initiative has also sparked a cultural shift towards prioritizing safety and quality of care.
WHO supports quality of care capacity-building in this hospital as part of the Emergency Human Capital Project implemented in partnership with the World Bank.
