Staff Reporter
The Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Lahore has once again been accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI).
The JCI is recognised as a global leader in developing the most rigorous standards for healthcare quality and patient safety in the world.
SKMCH&RC, Lahore, first achieved JCI accreditation in 2018, while SKMCH&RC, Peshawar was so accredited in 2019.
The Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust is proud of the fact that of the four JCI-accredited hospitals in Pakistan, two are hospitals of the Shaukat Khanum healthcare system, a feat that is all the more remarkable since these are the only charitable hospitals in the country to achieve such recognition.
The comprehensive re-accreditation survey was held from the 15th to the 19th of March, 2021, with a team of expert surveyors from the Joint Commission International evaluating compliance to hospital standards related to a variety of areas.
These included the International Patient Safety Goals, patient assessment and care, anaesthesia and surgical care, medication management, patient and family education, quality improvement, infection prevention and control, governance and leadership, facility management, staff qualifications and education and information management.
Of note is the fact that SKMCH&RC, Lahore, was surveyed against new and far more stringent standards set by the JCI in its 7th edition of standards.
At the current time, there are fewer than fifty hospitals in the entire world that have been judged against these exacting measures.
On this occasion, Dr Muhammed Aasim Yusuf, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Hospital, praised the efforts of the entire staff at the hospital, who he said worked tirelessly, day in and day out, in order to uphold the highest international standards for delivery of patient care.
He thanked the staff for their untiring effort and the commitment they had exhibited to achieve re-accreditation, particularly during the COVID pandemic, adding that this was a success not just for our institution, but also for our patients, who have always been our foremost priority.
He went on to say “this is a proud moment for all Pakistanis who have believed in and supported us for the last thirty years or more, and who have fought with us against the scourge of cancer.
We have always striven to be a model institution, to show that it is possible to achieve excellence, while also delivering excellent care to all patients, in our country.
The award of re-accreditation by the JCI today testifies to the fact that we have been true to our word in providing world-class cancer care to all our patients, over 75% of whom are treated entirely free of charge.”
