Doha, 29 August 2021: The Stroke Service at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has recently successfully achieved Joint Commission International (JCI) re-accreditation as the primary stroke center. This remarkable achievement across the whole spectrum of the service was recognized recently in April 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. This reaccreditation is also important as it was the first of its kind to be done virtually at HMC.
The Stroke Service at HMC was first accredited by Joint Commission International in November 2014 as the first ever Primary Stroke Center within the middle east and the service was reaccredited in 2018.
Dr. Ahmed Own, Acting Director of HMC’s Neurosciences Institute said he was proud of how teams across the entire Stroke Service have not only developed in recent times, but also how they responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The service now encompasses patient care right from the Ambulance Service through Emergency Department to the inpatient Stroke Unit, Medical Units, Intensive Care Units, and an outpatient Stroke Clinic at HGH,” said Dr. Own. “The Neuroradiology, Interventional Radiology, Therapy services, Dietary services and Acute Rehabilitation Services are also an integral part of the stroke team. All these teams work collaboratively to ensure the best care is delivered to each stroke patient admitted to our service.
“Over the past decade the Stroke Service at HMC has made significant improvements in the way in which it delivers care to patients. Within the last year, more than 2500 patients have been admitted, of which more than 1500 of these were a confirmed stroke.”
Medical Director of Hamad General Hospital, Dr. Yousef Al Maslamani commended the team on their reaccreditation, noting that this was made even more difficult during the pandemic.
“This is an exceptional achievement by the Stroke team at a time of unprecedented challenge. It is testimony to their outstanding multi-disciplinary team working and dedication to stroke patients, and we are proud to host such an excellent service,” Dr. Al Maslamani said.
Despite the impact of COVID-19 in Qatar, and the effect to the HGH Stroke Service, it has continued to provide safe and effective care to all patients admitted with a suspected stroke.
Due to the imposed pandemic restrictions JCI had to be virtual for the first time in the history of HMC.
The teams, led by Dr. Naveed Akhtar, Head of the HMC Stroke Service, including Neuroscience, Nursing, RACS (Regulatory, Accreditation and Compliance Services), Quality and Patient Safety, and Health Information and Communication Technology (HICT) worked together to achieve completion of the lengthy two-day accreditation process. JCI team interviewed select members of the staff during the process in different areas and was impressed by the professional attitude and the level of care provided at HGH.
The JCI consultant also performed thorough assessments in every category and gave a very positive feedback when awarding the accreditation.
Stroke remains one of the highest causes of death and disability. It is important to recognize acute stroke in time and as early as possible so that acute care can be effectively provided. The damage can be greater if the time between stroke onset to medical intervention is delayed.
