Under the auspices of His Excellency the Deputy Minister of Health for Health Affairs, Dr. Mansour bin Nasser Al-Howasi, the Director-General of Hospitals, Dr. Abdulaziz bin Hamed Al-Ghamdi inaugurated on Saturday, February 25th, 2012, a training program meant to improve hospital directors' skills. It is organized by the Hospitals General Department in cooperation with the Training and Scholarship General Department for hospitals with bed capacity of 100-150 beds.
“This program comes as part of the ongoing strenuous efforts to develop performance in MOH hospitals,” said Dr. Al-Ghamdi, “and within the framework of an integrated training plan intended to improve the performance of hospital directors, by way of providing them with the basics of hospital management, as well as the necessary administrative skills. This target could be attained by familiarizing them with the basics of management and healthcare quality, in addition to the concept, elements and challenges of strategic planning. The training program covers also the issues of change management, key performance indicators (KPI) at hospitals, directors' role in the preparation for accreditation, and the basic skills of a n efficient hospital director (e.g. the ability to solve problems, decision-making, medical communication and consultation skills, work team management, qualities and skills of proficient directors, etc.)”
Dr. Al-Ghamdi pointed out, besides, that the training program includes the organization of workshops with the directors and directors-general of the MOH departments, with the aim to identify the tasks assigned to them, solve the problems impeding hospital directors' work, and provide answers for their enquiries. The number of hospital directors participating in this training course is 25 directors from 8 health regions. The trainers of the course are a constellation of high-profile specialists in the fields of hospital management and human development. The course was also attended by a number of directors-general, who provided precious remarks and instructions for hospital directors, and answered their questions and enquiries.
Concluding his statement, Dr. Al-Ghamdi extended his sincere thanks to His Excellency the Deputy Minister of Health for Health Affairs, Dr. Mansour bin Nasser Al-Howasi, for his generous patronage of this course. He also thanked His Excellency the Deputy Minister of Health for Planning and Development and His Excellency the MOH Undersecretary for Preventive Medicine for their unstinting support of the Hospitals General Directorate and removing the obstacles impeding its progress. It did not escape Dr. Al-Ghamdi's notice, also, to thank His Excellency the Assistant Deputy Minister of Health for Workforce Development and His Excellency the Director-General of Training and Scholarships for their significant support of such courses. He also extended his thanks to the organizing committee, his colleagues, speakers and attendees. “We hope that this training content will function as a theoretical and practical guide for hospital directors so as to help them in the accomplishment of their daily tasks,” Dr. Al-Ghamdi concluded.