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Regional News |Doha |
Staff Reporter | Thursday, May 24, 2007
Qatar's Hamad Medical Corporation signs MoU with
ICDL GCC Foundation
(Dubai Health & News) Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC),
the premier non-profit healthcare provider in Doha, Qatar, has recently
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ICDL GCC Foundation, the
governing body of the International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL)
digital literacy program for the Gulf States, to provide medical staff
with essential ICT skills to better manage healthcare tasks.
The landmark MoU was signed in Doha between Jamil Ezzo, Director
General, ICDL GCC Foundation and Mohamad Mubarak Al Noimi, H.I.S.
Executive Director at HMC in the presence of Mr. Ahmad Hussein Al Nehma,
Administration Manager, Dr. Sumaya Dalham Al Kowari, Head of Nursing
information Technology Department and Mr. Omar Suwais, Head of Health IT
Department.
The move will see HMC endorse the ICDL initiative by providing an
internal centre to train and test its employees on the ICDL program,
commencing with an initial enrolment of 1500 staff members in the first
phase. The agreement is being funded by ictQatar, Qatar's leading
telecommunications regulatory authority, as part of its e-citizens
initiative which aims to raise IT awareness levels and increase the
usage of computer and internet access across the various strata of
society. By developing the employees IT skills, the level of efficiency
will develop on a higher quality standards.
The ICDL program is supported by a myriad of international research that
proves a modern healthcare system supported by technologically competent
and computer skilled staff increases efficiency, improves the quality of
care. The program is dedicated to equip all employees with all computer
skills that are necessary to adapt to the fast growing digital society.
Commenting on the initiative, Mohamad Mubarak Al Noimi, H.I.S. Executive
Director at HMC said, "HMC is working closely with HMC staff to
assist in developing and bridging the IT skills gap through the ICDL
program, which HMC believes is an important step forward in improving
business performance inside the organisation. This initiative comes from
our belief that the steps to develop our medical corporation is by
strengthening our staff with IT skills that will make them equipped to
face this IT concentrated era. As the premier healthcare provider in
Qatar, we are entrusted with the task of delivering quality health care
so it becomes our responsibility to develop the skills of our team to
meet the demands of a highly advanced healthcare system."
Under the terms of the MoU, HMC and ICDL will also implement an
additional level of cooperation in the form of a society service
initiative that will offer the ICDL program to the families of staff
members at symbolic rates.
HMC is one of the largest recruiters of health employees in Qatar, with
more than 13,000 staff based in hospitals and health centres.
Established by Emiri decree in 1979, the Corporation manages four highly
specialized hospitals and has rapidly developed highly specialized
medical facilities capable of providing state of the art diagnosis and
treatment of diseases that previously could only be managed in overseas
medical centres. This development will only be possible when people
become equipped with the basic IT skills that will able them to manage
this technologies.
"As technology is now determining the provision of modern
healthcare the world over, the decision by HMC to endorse ICDL is a big
step in facilitating the modernisation and technological programs we are
currently promoting. Studies confirm that digital literacy is a powerful
economic driver and the ICDL program teaches digital literacy by
enabling people to certify their skills, improve their productivity and
enhance their potential. When the staff becomes equipped with IT skills
they will manage to become a strong driving force in the development of
the economy, specially that the economy is now becoming IT driven and
needs people that can tolerate this development, " commented Jamil
Ezzo, Director General, ICDL GCC Foundation.
Many countries around the world have launched initiatives to enhance
digital literacy in their health sector. The United Kingdom National
Health Service (NHS), the third largest employer in the world after the
Chinese Army and the Indian Railways, adopted ICDL as the reference
standard for basic digital skills in 2001. NHS found it imperative that
digital literacy of its staff was central to the success of its
digitization efforts and for them to adapt quickly to new IT and
information systems and get quicker, easier access to the information
they need to support patient care. Over the past 6 years, around 600,000
out of the 1.3 million NHS employees have enrolled in the ICDL Program.
The ICDL program is available throughout the GCC states with a syllabus
consisting of seven modules designed to cover the key concepts of
computing, including practical applications and their use in the
workplace, providing a solid base of computer skills to enable people to
confidently use computers. The certification is endorsed by governments
worldwide as the global benchmark for computer literacy for all
qualifying government employees.
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