Reflections from Dr. Carsten’s visit to Bahrain

On the 4th of May 2023, I had the honour and pleasure to join the National Health Regulatory Authority of Bahrain for the celebration of the achievement of ISQua EEA accreditation for the Accreditation Standards for Hospitals and Medical Clinics, 2nd Edition.

On the 4th of May 2023, I had the honour and pleasure to join the National Health Regulatory Authority of Bahrain for the celebration of the achievement of ISQua EEA accreditation for the Accreditation Standards for Hospitals and Medical Clinics, 2nd Edition. I would like to congratulate the organisation on achieving this milestone, as I know that it has taken a lot of hard work to get to this point.

Occasions such as these allow me as CEO to see first-hand the impact of the work that we do in ISQua EEA. While in Bahrain I visited hospitals who will now implement/ who are in the process of implementing the national standards in Bahrain and learned about how the standards are driving change on the ground in hospitals in Bahrain. Such events and encounters also allow me to reflect on the importance of ISQua EEA accreditation.

The standards from Bahrain were assessed against ISQua EEA’s Guidelines and Principles for the Development of Health and Social Care Standards (The Principles). Achieving accreditation signifies that:

  • the standards have been developed through a well-defined and robust process, with the involvement of clients and other relevant stakeholders, and taking relevant evidence into account;
  • the measurement methodology is stringent and appropriate;
  • the standards address relevant issues related to governance, management, safety, risk management and quality performance, and they promote a person-centred approach to healthcare delivery;
  • that the accrediting body has mechanisms in place to ensure that the standards and the measurement methodology are evaluated by the users and that the feedback is used for improvement.

ISQua EEA’s Principles are based on evidence and almost 25 years of experience. Currently, they are undergoing an extensive review to prepare for a revision that will make them fit for the many new challenges health and social care providers are facing.

The principles are one component of ISQua EEA’s International Accreditation Programme (IAP). We also offer accreditation of external evaluation organisations and of surveyor training programmes. They set benchmarks for the operations of an external evaluation organisation and for the planning and delivery of a surveyor training programme.

The fact that the standards from Bahrain and many others meet the ISQua EEA Principles does not mean that these sets of standards are all the same. On the contrary – ISQua EEA considers that it would not be feasible to write one set of standards that would apply equally well in any country and region, any type of health or social care facility and at any time.

The value of the IAP is that it allows you to design an accreditation programme that is tailored for a specific purpose and context, to meet specific challenges, while remaining assured that it meets fundamental principles for a good accreditation programme.

Dr. Casten Engel.

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Elom Otchi

Elom is passionate about improving quality of care and patient safety outcomes.

In view of this, he has had the opportunity to work in various capacities with various organisations including AfIHQSA, WHO, UNICEF and others undertaking research, supporting the development of national quality policies and strategies, facilitating the establishment of quality governance systems across all the levels of the health sector and building capacity of national and sub-national quality leads/teams to institutionalize the practice of quality and patient safety across the continent.

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Stephen Taiye Balogun

Stephen is a Senior Programme Officer at the Institute of Human Virology in Nigeria as well as Country Representative for Health Information for All (HIFA).

Stephen plans to use this opportunity to maximise his impact by championing the cause of patient safety and quality in Nigeria and across Africa.

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We are looking forward to working with both Stephen and our 2020 winner Rhoda Kalondu over the next year.

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Dr Rhoda Kalondu

Rhoda is the Head of the Patient Safety Unit at Kenyatta Hospital in Nairobi and wants to use this Fellowship to learn how to establish a culture of safety and develop systems for assessment and analysis at her institution, and more widely. As well as this, Rhoda intends to develop and execute an intervention to improve patient safety in Kenyatta National Hospital.

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Dr Subhrojyoti Bhowmick

I am an MBBS graduate from Calcutta University with a Gold Medal in Gynecology & Obstetrics.

I have completed M.D in Pharmacology from IPGME& R, Kolkata and have over 12 years of experience in the field of Clinical Research, Pharmacovigilance and Medication management in Hospitals.

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I am a peer reviewer for prestigious international journals like the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, CNS Drugs and Drug Safety case reports.

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