The General Directorate of Health Affairs is striving to receive international accreditation and reach health requirements that guarantee quality services for patients, Dr. Nora Al-Nowseir, director of patient safety at the armed forces medical services, told local media recently.

A study has proven that 80 percent of medical mistakes are caused by a fault in the system and the procedures, which could have been avoided if the necessary steps would have been taken beforehand.

According to Dr. Al-Nowseir, the directorate is committed to reach this goal by building an infrastructure to develop the quality of the service as well as the patient safety. This process will lead the directorate’s health and medical facilities to receive accreditation from the Joint Commission International (JCI), a worldwide organization that works to improve health care quality around the globe.

In order to reach this goal, the directorate launched educational programs to come up with a qualified cadre in the armed forces hospitals. Al-Nowseir pointed out that there is a training diploma program taught in cooperation with the JCI and Prince Sultan Military Health College, with two classes graduating since its inception.

The physician stressed that the General Directorate is instilling a culture of quality and patient safety in all of the country’s medical facilities, and spreading it among employees. “We defined the year 2015 as the year to reap the fruits of our work, and now four different facilities received approval in various programs, while three others are awaiting the JCI certification,” she said.