Sayhi stresses improving the image of the health sector in Algeria – Al-Hiwar Al-Jazairia

The Minister of Health, Abd al-Haq Sayhi, met yesterday evening, Monday, at the Ministry’s headquarters, via videoconference, with the health directors of the states and their affiliated health institutions, in the presence of the executives of the central administration.

The meeting was devoted to discussing the implementation measures taken for the new roadmap for the health sector, represented in the Patient Activities Action Plan (PAM).

At the beginning of this meeting, the Minister listened to a presentation by the Director General of Prevention and Health Promotion at the Ministry, Djamel Fourar, in which he highlighted the importance of improving the image of the health sector in Algeria by inviting all health directors of states and hospital institutions under tutelage to work on implementing the work paper outlined in this. In particular, by providing the necessary hospital hygiene at the level of all health structures, in accordance with the directives included in the road map for the sector.

Forar stressed the importance of organizing awareness and sensitization campaigns in the health sector by strengthening the means of communication, while working on organizing training courses for health professionals on the same subject.

For his part, the Director General of Health Services, Prof. Elias Rahal, discussed the contents of the sixth axis of the patient’s activities work plan, where Prof. Rahal emphasized that the process of digitizing the sector must include all health institutions, including neighborhood institutions, given the important role they play by relieving pressure. Hospital institutions should ensure the best care for the patient and expand the list of specialized medical examinations in order to bring health closer to the citizen. Professor Rahal also reviewed the digitization plan that was approved at the level of the emergency departments through automatic sorting of urgent cases after the examination by the receiving doctor of the cases arriving at the emergency departments.

For her part, the Director General of Pharmacy and Health Supplies, Prof. Wahiba Hajouj, highlighted the importance of the electronic portal that was sent between the Ministry of Health and the central hospital pharmacy, which allows the hospital pharmacist to submit a receipt for the drug acquisition request by communicating electronically with the guardians, a step that would contribute significantly to Good and rational management of medicines and avoiding shortages. Professor Hajouj called on the health directors of the states to work on providing the necessary capabilities to activate the work of this new mechanism, stressing that it does not need huge capabilities, but rather equipment that any institution can have. In the context of her speech, Professor Hajouj announced the organization of a national day on the maintenance of medical equipment, on December 13, 2022, given the great importance of this process.

For her part, the Director of Training at the Ministry, Mrs. Linda Khawald, stressed the need to reactivate the continuous training cells at the institutional level by relying on local continuous training schemes.

After listening to the various presentations presented, the Minister gave a number of directives, through which he stressed the need to accelerate the digitization of the health sector in order to bring about the desired positive change in the field by doubling information and awareness and exploiting the capabilities and means that the state harnessed and available to all health institutions and Which the Minister called on its leaders to work on creating a space for dialogue, consultation and coordination, and channels for communication with all actors in the health sector, including members of the scientific and medical councils, with the aim of enriching work plans by adopting the proposals that are presented. The Minister of Health also demanded the need to hold a national meeting to discuss the results that have been achieved with the revival of telemedicine (under the auspices of the southern states) to support the medical poles.

In conclusion, the Minister reaffirmed that serving the patient and enabling him to obtain various health services and improving the conditions of the sector’s users constitutes a major goal within the new vision to revitalize the health sector, and highlighted the readiness of his ministerial department to accompany public health institutions in implementing any measure or initiative that contributes to this endeavour. The Minister indicated that the success of this process means the success of all actors in it.