Patient Safety Congress to examine policies to protect patients and healthcare workers

For the first time, this years Infection Control Conference, one of the many endeavors highlighted at the Patient Safety Congress, will be organised in association with the GCC Centre for Infection Control and will have the collaboration of many of the world's leading associations and organisations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), Association of Professionals in Infection Control (APIC), and the International Federation of Infection Control (IFIC).

The Patient Safety Congress, taking place from 17th-19th September 2006 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dubai, UAE, will include an exhibition area, offering a unique opportunity for companies to meet and network with key decision makers. In parallel, the congress will feature three distinct events; the Infection Control Conference, Nursing Symposium and a Decontamination and Sterilisation Symposium.

Dr Ziad Memish, Infection Control Conference Chairman, Director GCC Center For Infection Control, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Saudi National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, KSA, says,

"As healthcare associated infections, emerging antibiotic resistant microorganisms, the threat of avian influenza and a host of other infections and infectious diseases, continue to challenge our expertise and resources, there is an urgency for the implementation of a collaborative strategy. This conference signifies a major step forward to answer the call for collaborative action among GGC states, as the conference organisers and the GCC Centre for Infection Control unify efforts to organise a faculty of international and regional experts to address the region's multiple infection and safety concerns."

Mercer Middle East, a platinum sponsor, will also be participating at the conference. Azad Saadalla, Manager, Mercer Middle East, will be speaking about centralised CSSD (Central Sterile Supply Department) versus local CSSD in addition to creating awareness about the importance of implementing a well known and recognised health standard across the local and regional hospitals. "Mercer is delivering training courses and educational seminars about this important issue and has been getting encouraging feedback from the market to proceed further in this endeavor," he commented.

The Infection Control Conference will cover topics such as current concepts in the prevention of surgical site infections, hand-hygiene, polio eradication and protecting health care workers from infections. The conference will also include an update on the infection control strategies of the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Yemen.

With increasingly more hospitals within the region seeking accreditation, the conference will place heavy emphasis on the methods required to increase standards to international levels.

The Decontamination and Sterilisation Symposium will focus on the importance of implementing national decontamination and sterilisation protocols to protect patients and healthcare workers from serious infections.

Mr. Peter Newson, Business Unit Manager, Steris Limited, comments, "Currently, hospitals across the region operate under their own decontamination and sterilisation guidelines which can lead to inconsistency. The implementation of a minimum training standard for all CSSD staff as well as a national or regional strategy, would be highly beneficial in reducing cross infections, which may be the result of inadequate decontamination and sterilisation standards at individual hospitals."

The Nursing Symposium, held in association with the UAE Federal Department of Nursing, will focus on the more basic IC precautions for nurses, such as decontamination of basic equipment, hand hygiene in healthcare settings, protective clothing, isolation precautions and waste and laundry management.

The Patient Safety Congress is accredited by the American Academy of Continuing Medical Education (AACME).