Healthcare workers pledge to improve services in national campaign

AMMAN — More than 48,500 healthcare sector workers on Wednesday pledged to improve the quality of services as part of a nationwide campaign.

The Change Day Initiative, which took place Wednesday for the second consecutive year in cooperation with Hikma Pharmaceuticals, encourages healthcare providers’ personal commitment to improve services through additional efforts and without incurring extra costs.

Implemented by the Health Care Accreditation Council (HCAC), under the patronage of HRH Princess Muna, the campaign witnessed the participation of doctors and nurses, in addition to medical and administrative staff at local private and public entities.

Princess Muna renewed her pledge from last year, committing to supporting legislation that enhances specialised nursing roles in order to improve health services provided to the Jordanian community.

For his part, Health Minister Ali Hiasat pledged to support a culture of excellence and creativity across service-providing entities at the ministry.

The one-day campaign establishes a habit of promoting quality healthcare service throughout the year, HCAC Chairman Amjad Aryan told The Jordan Times on Wednesday, adding that the quality of services is what distinguishes one medical institution from another.

“The Change Day Initiative encourages attempts to enhance the level of services provided, with the ultimate goal of offering a better experience for the patients,” he said.

Aryan, who is also founder and president of the Pharmacy One chain, said the initiative was a chance for him to visit six branches and interact with customers, as well as give them instructions on medicine usage, after eight years of office work.

“The role of the pharmacist is not just to sell medicines… he or she is an expert in medication who provides advice to patients,” he said, adding that he decided to conduct field visits more frequently.

Over 3,000 employees at Prince Hamzah Hospital took part in the initiative for the second year, although change in public hospitals could be difficult to achieve due to their high workload and limited resources, noted Bashar Nsour, change leader responsible for quality at the hospital.

His pledge was to spread awareness of the initiative among employees and help them carry out their online pledges, as well as to facilitate the campaign’s implementation.

“I wanted to make change happen and to make my colleagues believe in their ability to carry out change,” Nsour told The Jordan Times over the phone, adding that he sought to include workers at administrative departments, such as accounting, human resources and registration.

“One accountant committed to going to patients and processing their documents without them having to stand in line,” he said.

Nsour noted that nurses at the paediatric department organised a full-day schedule of awareness and entertainment activities for patients.

The hospital’s management decided to designate a day of change on a monthly basis in order to offer patients a better experience, he said.

Students in related fields were actively involved in the campaign, according to the HCAC.

Aya Saleh, a physiotherapy student at the University of Jordan, pledged to arrive early to her classes, while another student, Mohammad Risheh, pledged to spread a positive atmosphere at the faculty, according to the HCAC website.

Last year, some 10,000 individuals working in the healthcare sector pledged to provide improved services to patients at hospitals and healthcare centres across the Kingdom.