AMMAN — Six public hospitals received accreditation from the Health Care Accreditation Council (HCAC) for adopting and implementing the council’s goals for the year 2011, a health official announced Thursday.

The Karak, Prince Hussein, Princess Badiya, Princess Rahma, Princess Basma and Maan public hospitals were among 17 health facilities that received the council’s accreditation, according to Minister of Health Abdul Latif Wreikat.

The minister made these remarks during the launch of the HCAC National Quality and Safety Goals for the year 2012, during which he pledged that the ministry’s hospitals and facilities would follow the council’s patient safety goals towards better services.

Jointly developed by the Ministry of Health and USAID, the HCAC was launched in 2008 to draw up, revise and classify national healthcare standards, in line with the requirements of the International Society for Quality in Health Care.

Every year, HCAC determines a new list of goals for hospitals based on best practices used internationally to reduce the risk of healthcare incidents. The goals seek to eliminate preventable harm caused by the healthcare process.

Hospitals and health facilities receive the council’s accreditation based on the implementation of the goals, which also seek to minimise medical errors.

This year, the HCAC set three goals to be implemented by health facilities: reducing the risk of patient falls, adopting the appropriate use of prophylactic antibiotics during surgery, and reducing the risk of catheter-associated urinary tract infections.

Speaking at the launch, USAID Mission Representative Laura Sloubey said USAID is currently collaborating with the health ministry and the Royal Medical Services “in an effort to improve the quality and safety of health services in Jordan”.

She also stressed that USAID, which provides technical and financial support to the HCAC, “is committed to continuing its work in this sector with the ultimate goals of improving the health status of all Jordanians”.