In continuation of the annual celebration of World Patient Safety Day for the fifth year, the Faculty of Medicine at Ain Shams University organized a number of events, which are held in cooperation with the Office of the Representative of the World Health Organization and designated by the World Health Organization on the seventeenth of September of each year, under the auspices of Prof. Ghada Farouk, Acting President of the University, Prof. Ali Al-Anwar, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Chairman of the Board of Directors of University Hospitals.

In the presence and supervision of Prof. Hala Sweid, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Medicine for Community Service and Environmental Development Affairs and Prof. Tariq Youssef, Executive Director of University Hospitals and Prof. Samia Abdo, former Deputy Executive Director of Hospitals and Director of Infection Control, and Prof. Maha Al-Tahyoumi, Professor, at the Department of Health Care Quality, at the Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, and Prof. Ihab Shehad, Head of the Healthcare Quality Department, and Dr. Jasser Al-Karim from the World Health Organization Office, representative in the Arab Republic of Egypt, representing Dr. Naima Al-Qaseer, Representative of the World Health Organization in the Arab Republic of Egypt, and Dr. Reham Al-Asadi, Assistant Professor of Microbiology at the Egypt Office of the World Health Organization, and Eng. Najwa Al-Faqi is a patient advocate for the World Health Organization and a community engagement representative.

It also witnessed the presence of a number of hospital directors, including Prof. Sameh Samir and Prof. Issam Fakhry and Dr. Walaa Wesam and the presence of some external parties, including Dr. Marwa Taha, Director of Quality Management at the General Authority for Healthcare, and a number of hospital directors and their deputies, heads of departments and nursing, hospital quality teams, infection control teams, and some pharmacists.

The celebration was organized by the Central Quality Department, under the supervision of Dr. Sarah Ibrahim, Acting Director of the Central Quality Department, in cooperation with the Health Care Quality Department.

And Prof. Tariq Youssef thanked the members of the Health Care Quality Department and the Central Quality Department who organized the celebration. He also stressed the need to pay attention to patient safety and drug safety in all areas of medical practice, stressing that quality standards and infection control have become an important part of all medical specialties.

Drawing attention to the fact that a number of Ain Shams University hospitals have obtained GAHAR accreditation, which was obtained by Martyr Ahmed Shawky Hospital for Geriatric Medicine, which is considered the first and pioneer in the Middle East in the specialty of geriatric medicine, which includes early detection, treatment and follow-up of all chronic diseases of the elderly.

At the beginning of his speech, Dr. Jasser Al-Karim, representative of the World Health Organization office in Cairo, conveyed the greetings of Dr. Naeema Al-Qaseer, representative of the World Health Organization in Egypt, to the university and Prof. Ghada Farouk for the continued support and cooperation with the World Health Organization office in Cairo, pointing out that the goal of this celebration is to spread the culture of patient safety, adding that quality is a very important element when providing medical services.

Also, comprehensive health coverage provides quality health care to reduce health and economic damage. His Excellency praised the presidential approach to the comprehensive health insurance initiative as one of the most important initiatives to develop the health sector in Egypt across agencies and sectors to reduce the risk and number of deaths, protect patients, and provide them with the best care.

Prof. Maha Tahyawi stressed the university’s constant keenness to hold this celebration annually, and the Faculty and hospitals are illuminated in orange as part of the activities, as well as the activities and exhibitions presented at Ain Shams University Hospitals, which provide great experience among their employees and their impact on health quality and patient safety.

She also encouraged the importance of all university hospitals, especially Ain Shams University, obtaining GAHAR accreditation, and the dream still continues in a strong age for Obour Specialized Hospital and Demerdash to obtain accreditation.

Then the activities included showing a group of awareness films, videos, posters, and scientific lectures that continued throughout the day about patient safety, attention to listening to the patient’s complaints and supporting him, improving patient safety and providing health services, while continuing to hold many exhibitions in a number of Ain Shams University hospitals, including the Martyr Ahmed Shawqi Hospital for Geriatrics and the Academy, the heart, the internal medicine hospital, the obstetrics and gynecology hospital, and the heart and chest diseases and surgeries hospital.

The activities also included holding a community awareness symposium for citizens and university employees at the Al-Banhawi Auditorium in the Faculty of Medicine about the safe use of medication. The symposium included a fundus examination for the faculty’s workers and employees.

The symposium activities included a presentation of the “Ashaaa” program for comprehensive health care, which provides health services to workers at Ain Shams University using modern technologies.

Prof. Mona Abdel Salam, Professor of Endocrinology and Prof. Nour El-Din Hussein, Professor of Ophthalmology and Surgery, at the Faculty of Medicine, at Ain Shams University, presented valuable information about preventing diabetes and associated retinal diseases.

The results of the fundus examination campaign were presented, through which about 250 employees were examined and 47 of them were found to have retinopathy, and then a specialized fundus examination was performed for them, following the end of the symposium by Dr. Alaa Jaafar, specialist in the Department of Surgery and Ophthalmology.