Dubai: Dubai Health Authority (DHA) is set to focus on its Green Hospital strategy when Dubai hosts the International Hospital Federation’s 45th World Hospital Congress next month.
Senior officials of DHA, which is co-hosting the Congress, revealed this on Thursday at a press conference to announce the details of the event which will be held from November 9 to 11 at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.
With the theme “Global Learnings, Local Actions: Sustainable Healthcare,” the event will be held under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council.
Dr Ramadan Al Blooshi, chairman of the organising committee of the Congress, said it will discuss the latest global developments related to healthcare challenges faced by hospitals around the world.
“The event will also discuss better application practices, innovations, smart solutions and digital technology in the health sector as well as how to provide sustainable health services to members of society and ensure the service continuity during and after crises.”
Sustainable healthcare
Dr Al Blooshi said the Congress will discuss a number of themes related to sustainable healthcare. He said the discussions regarding Green Hospitals will be about good practices and innovations for hospitals to combat climate change and its impacts and ensure sustainability.
“These practices will include supply chain management, changes in clinical care, hospital design and development, organisational culture focused on sustainability and last but not the least, green leadership and governance.”
In reply to a question, the official confirmed that Dubai would also come up with rules and regulations for implementing the concept of Green Hospitals.
“The enablers are already in place. We need to plug them altogether and make an overall strategy,” he said.
Dr. Farida Al Khaja, chair of the scientific committee of the conference, pointed out that healthcare facilities are not different from other entities when it comes to using various materials that consume energy and impact climate change.
“Currently, we are focussing on the government’s strategy on how to be friendly to the environment while providing high quality health care services,” she said.
Environmental-friendly management of medical waste would be one of the major topics that would be addressed, the officials added.
Well-being of healthcare providers
The conference will also discuss the challenges and solutions of the healthcare workforce and ways and processes to ensure the well-being of health care providers.
In this context, Al Blooshi said healthcare leaders from across the world will also tackle mental health issues of healthcare workers, which became significant during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Another challenge that was faced during the pandemic was the need to upskill healthcare workers, he said. Al Blooshi cited the example of upskilling nurses working in outpatient clinics to work in ICUs during the pandemic.
30 sessions, 150 speakers, 1,000 participants
Dr Al Khaja said there will be over 30 scientific sessions that will be attended by 150 speakers. She said that the sessions will review the innovations and health solutions adopted by hospital leaders and global healthcare decision-makers in light of the lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The sessions will discuss ways to ensure flexibility and sustainability in healthcare provision. The leaders will discuss the future of hospital buildings, the way we design them to cater to our future needs especially in the context of what we have learnt during the pandemic,” she added.
The conference will also focus on the impact of technology and its role in facing potential challenges.
Dr. Al-Khaja said 30 workshops will precede the launch of the conference which will be accompanied by a specialised medical exhibition.
More than 1,000 participants from 60 countries are expected to attend the conference.
The DHA officials highlighted the importance of this global event and said that Dubai won the bid to host this prestigious conference after intense competition from many cities in the world.
