Dr Zohra Mhamdi (centre) of Tunisia visits the Emergency Unit at Mediclinic Milnerton in Cape Town with Elisa Hendricks, Unit Manager (left) and Clinical Risk Manager, Ellen le Roux.
Senior Medical Doctor, Dr Zohra Mhamdi, of Tunisia visited COHSASA – and some of the healthcare facilities it has accredited – during a weeklong fact-finding mission to Cape Town in March 2016. Since February 2015, Dr Mhamdi has been spearheading the move to set up the team leading the Tunisian National Institution of Accreditation (INASanté). The trip to South Africa was part of the team’s mission to set up Tunisia’s accreditation system.
During her visit to Cape Town she inspected a number of hospitals and institutions that have successfully undergone the COHSASA quality improvement and accreditation process and acquainted herself with some of the COHSASA methodology and guidelines. She also applied herself to COHSASA’s eHealth technology packages, CoQIS, our health quality information system and PatSIS, our adverse events reporting and monitoring system. She learnt about professional development and training, including surveyor training, and preparing for and maintaining ISQua accreditation.
Dr Mhamdi visited Mediclinic Milnerton, Weltevreden Primary Health Clinic in Mitchells Plain, and the Maitland Environmental Health Office for the City of Cape Town (accredited until 2018). She also interviewed several members of hospital and clinic staff on the merits of the COHSASA systems.
Dr Mhamdi specialises in tropical and infectious diseases. She has also held positions as a Senior Manager, Chief Medical Officer, and Chief Executive Officer in a number of private hospitals in Tunis and has a strong academic background.
Dr Mhamdi (left) inspects documents in Mediclinic Milnerton ICU with (from left): Diana Marais, ICU Unit Manager, Jill Layton McCann, Nursing Services Manager who played a big part in the hospital’s four-year accreditation from COHSASA from 2015 to 2019, and Ellen le Roux.
Dr Mhamdi (right) with staff of the Maitland Environmental Office in Cape Town.