Infection Control and Sterilization Conference Saudi Arabia 2024

Main Conference Day One

Registration and Refreshments

Welcome note by Fortinus Events

Opening Address from the Chairperson 

INFECTION CONTROL & PREVENTION IN HEALTHCARE

Keynote Presentation: Implementation of Saudi Arabia’s National Infection Control Guidelines in hospitals to align with Saudi IPC National Standards

• Understanding the national IPC standards
• Leadership Support and resources allocation
• Challenges, assessment and gap analyses
• Development of protocols
• Education and training
• Implementation and integration into clinical practices
• Evaluation and improvement

Mohammed Garout, Infection Control Specialty Team Leader, Saudi Central Board for Accreditation of Health Care Institutions (CBAHI)

Value of Certification in Infection Prevention and Control, Is it Significant! 

• Certification provides standardized measurement of current essential knowledge needed for professionals working in the Infection Prevention Field.
• It encourages individual growth and study, therefore promoting professionalism.
• The significance of certification is measured through surveys which clearly explicits that it has a great impact in career growth, higher salaries and improved patient outcomes.

Shazia Irum, Ambassador, Certification Board of Infection Control & Epidemiology (CBIC)

Presentation by our Gold Sponsor – Diversey

Networking and Tea Break/ One-on-One Meetings

Artificial intelligence (AI) in infection prevention:

• AI technologies or tools detect and prevent infections within health care facilities.
• Share examples of successful implementations of AI in infection prevention programs.

Tabrikah Mohammed, Founder and Chairperson, Emirates Infection Prevention & Sterilization Society

Infection Control in High-Risk Areas: ICUs and NICUs 

Dr Ahmad Farouk, Director, Infection Prevention & Control, Security Forces Hospital Makkah

Antibiotics resistance within bacterial communities in Biofilms 

Paula Freeman, HSE Decontamination, Health Service Executive 

Advances in Infection Control: Practices, Technologies, and Standards

• Can AI and Nanotech Conquer Healthcare-Associated Infections? Exploring the Latest in Infection Prevention
• How will hand hygiene, PPE, robotics, and advanced cleaning/disinfection shape the future of infection control?
• What’s New in JCI’s 8th Edition? Unpacking the Latest Infection Control Requirements

Dr Radwa Kotb, Head of Infection Control, Fayoum General Hospital

Evaluation of the shelf life of sterile reusable medical devices via a risk analysis study 

• Focus on the steps whose malfunction can cause the sterility of the reprocessed medical device (MDR) to fail and analyze the current conditions of packaging, transport, and storage of MDR.
• To establish hypotheses of probable causes of loss of packaging integrity and propose appropriate corrective measures, an analysis of the integrity of the packaging system was carried out.
• To verify the sterility of medical device, a microbiological detection method is implemented. 

Katia Merkich, Medical Consultant, Sterisurgery Expertise Canada  

Antimicrobial resistance: Advocate and act now!

• Educating the stakeholders on Anti Microbial Resistance
• Provide critical window of opportunity for increasing accountability
• Increasing AMR awareness among different categories and provide guidance resources to inspire and help impact of AMR 

Magda Ramadan Abd El-Wadowd, Infection Control Director, Consultant, Specialized Medical Centre Hospitals Riyadh SMC group 

Networking Lunch Break/ One-on-One Meetings 

Role of Vendors & Medical Representatives in upgrading SPD & IPC in hospitals 

• Building trust between customers in professional ways.
• Learning how to deal professionally that preserves the rights of both parties.
• Applying protocols and systems for health facilities when dealing with the private sector.
• Playing the role of the key link between the manufacturer and the user.
• Promoting and increasing awareness in medical product management.
• Providing technical and administrative consultations. 

Dr Ahmed Baggashi, President of MENA, FHSS, Founding Member, SSIPC 

Infection Control accreditation and patient safety 

• 1. **Infection Control Accreditation**: Infection control accreditation involves the formal recognition of healthcare facilities for meeting specific standards and protocols designed to prevent and control infections. This process ensures that the facility adheres to best practices and guidelines to minimize the risk of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). 

• 2. **Patient Safety**: Patient safety focuses on the prevention of errors and adverse effects to patients associated with healthcare. It encompasses a wide range of practices, including safe medication administration, effective communication among healthcare providers, and implementing safety protocols to protect patients from harm. 

• 3. **Integration of Practices**: Infection control and patient safety are interrelated, with effective infection control practices being a critical component of ensuring overall patient safety. Accreditation programs often emphasize the need for continuous improvement and adherence to evidence-based practices to maintain a safe environment for patients and healthcare workers alike. 

Dr Amira Salah, Quality Director and Patient Experience Consultant, American institute for Medical Science and Management 

Implementation of Sustainability in Infection Prevention and Control Programs and its Role in Reducing Healthcare Associated Infections  

• Integration of Sustainability with IPC PracticesRole of Sustainable
• IPC Programs in Prevention of Healthcare Associated Infections   
• Challenges of Implementation of Sustainable IPC Programs
  

Omar Mostafa Talha, IPC Corporate Director, Egypt Healthcare Authority 

Networking and Tea Break/ / One-on-One Meetings

Emerging Infectious Diseases: Preparedness and Response Strategies

• Early Detection and Surveillance
• Importance of rapid identification of new infectious diseases.
• Technologies and methods used for surveillance.
• Global Collaboration and Information Sharing
• The role of international organizations and collaborations.
• Healthcare System Preparedness
• Training healthcare professionals for emerging threats.
• Ensuring adequate supplies and infrastructure.

Asmaa Tajalser, Infection Control Specialist, Dr. Hamid Suliman Al Ahmadi Hospital DHSA

Case Study-Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases

 Nadeem Gul, Head of Infection Prevention and Control, KFKC & Maternity Hospital of King Saud Medical City

Empowering Healthcare Leaders: Tools for Solving Complex Problems

• Importance of adhering to global standards.
• Necessity of local adaptations to address specific needs.
• Outbreak management and preparedness.
• Case studies highlighting successes and challenges.

Khaled Felimban, SVP Commercial and Development Advisory Board Member, MENA FHSS

Closing Remarks from the Chairperson

End Of Day One

Main Conference Day Two

Registration and Refreshments

Welcome Back Address from the Chairperson

STERILIZATION & DECONTAMINATION IN HEALTHCARE

Keynote Presentation:  The role of patient advocacy in improving infection prevention and control in healthcare settings.

• Patient Advocacy & its Role in Infection prevention and Control in healthcare settings.
• The key strategies of Patient Advocacy for improvement of infection prevention and control.
• Impact of Patient Advocacy on IPC Outcomes.
• Challenges and Opportunities. 

Dr Hend Naguib, Director, Infection Control, Saudi Garman Hospitals, Jeddah

Challenges in Sterilization Departments

• CSSD technician responsibility
• The heeding challenges
• Leader responsibilities

Ali Al Jabri, Head of CSSD Department, Royal Hospital Oman

Presentation Session – Reserved for Partner

Networking Tea Break/ One-on-One Meetings

Hospital Acquired Infections

• Discuss risk factors contributed Health care associated infections and identify routes of spread and sources
• Demonstrate common types of hospital acquired infections
• 3 list the updated prevention strategies,universal and standard precautions

Bayan Al Moghrabi, Health Centre Pharmacist, United Nations Relief and Works Agency

Environmental Sampling Between Myth and Reality

• The legislation and guidelines behind environmental sampling in public health.
• The best practice for sampling air, water and surfaces.
• Case studies in healthcare setting.

Dr. Nashat Nafouri, Executive Officer, Saudi Quality Council (SQC), Quality and Organizational Excellence Consultant, Security Forces Hospital, Ministry of Interior (MOI) and 1st Cluster in Riyadh, Ministry of Health (MOH)

Validation in CSSD : Is it mandatory ?

• Importance of Validation in CSSD (Central Sterile Supply Department)
• Regulatory Requirements and Standards
• Components and Processes of Validation

Ala Eddine Maatoug, Vice President, MENA FHSS-North Africa

Developing the soft skills of leaders in the CSSD and IC departments

Sami Wasel, Director, Saudi Society of Health Management

Presentation by Rajaa Alshaikhi, Infection Control Specialist, Jeddah

Reprocessing Robotic Instruments Hugo (RAS) in CSSD and Challenges met 

• Reprocessing Robotic Instruments (Hugo-RAS)   
• Challenges in Reprocessing Robotic instruments.
• Importance of Reprocessing Robotic instruments 

Wafiya Ahmed Behzad, CSSD Manager, RMS-BDF Hospital Bahrain 

Formulating effective KPIs for the operation of CSSD

• Define the roles and types of KPIs in CSSD.
• Explore the benefits and effective implementation strategies of KPIs in CSSD.
• Explain, How to draft smart KPIs and develop a comprehensive KPI profile for CSSD.
• Showcase a case study on successful KPI Implementation.

Yasir Arafat, CSSD Manager, Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City

To improve the competency of CSSD technician in the MENA region

• Raise the competency of the healthcare sterile processing technician in  Middle east and North Africa, by provide them with the proper up to date education, courses, training.
• Work with the government and ministry of health to make the certification a requirement for working in CSSD or at least to be registered in a sterilization course.
• Translate the course material and any related material into Arabic in order to make it easy for middle east and North Africa sterilization technician.

Amani Hawsawi, Sterilization Specialist &Future Quality Management Specialist, Taif Armed Forces Hospitals 

Closing Remarks from the Chairperson

Networking Lunch Break/ One-on-One Meetings

End of Conference