KIGALI - King Faisal Hospital, Kigali (KFH-K) received a two year accreditation status from the Council for Health Services Accreditation of South Africa (COSHAHA).

The announcement which was made last week, makes KFH-K the first government-owned hospital in the region to achieve an internationally recognized status with a score of 99%.

In a function at Serena Hotel, on Friday, attended by the Minister of Health, Dr. Richard Sezibera and KFH-K staff, the hospital received its accreditation certificate from the CEO of COHSASA, Stuart Whitaker.

The acting CEO of KFH-K, Alex Butera, expressed his gratitude and commended the government for supporting the hospital to improve its quality.

"In its quest for international recognition, KFH-K initiated a quality improvement campaign which the government supported through the Ministry of Health (MoH),” Butera said.

"The hospital is now accredited with a score of 99% and has placed the required systems in place to offer quality care, protect patient and family rights and ensure good management of information.”

Minster Sezibera said that MoH plans to introduce other hospitals into the program with Butare University Teaching Hospital currently undergoing assessment.

"The purpose of accreditation is to improve the quality of care according to internationally agreed standards. When a hospital is accredited, it strengthens the public’s confidence in the quality of services it offers,” Sezibera stated.

Whitaker said that the status achieved by KFK-H should serve as a great African victory where generally, hospitals suffer poor quality services.

"KFH-K used the limited resources at their disposal to maximize overall efficiency and offer quality services to their patients. This should serve as motivation to hospitals in Africa and in the region,” he said.

The final accreditation of KFH-K comes a long way. In 2006, the hospital scored only 41%, way below the 90% minimum requirement for accreditation.

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