Winners of the Second Quality Healthcare Kenyan Awards Announced
Nairobi, 8 April 2021: The Quality Health Kenyan Awards (QHKA) has announced winners of its second edition at a virtual awards ceremony. The winners comprise of selected hospitals, institutions, counties and individuals from across the country who have been recognised for their outstanding performance, contributions and achievement in improving quality of healthcare in Kenya.
The first of its kind in Kenya, QHKA seeks to award and honour excellence and innovation in the health sector for providing quality patient-centred care. The initiative takes a health systems strengthening approach to improve standards of health service delivery among health professionals by recognising outstanding performance, fostering innovation and the use of information technology and sharing of best practices.
“We have witnessed wide disparities in the quality of services delivered between public and private institutions of similar categorization across counties. I am glad to join the QHKA as we recognise and honour the individuals and organisations who even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic have managed to maintain and improve the quality of standards in the delivery of health services,” said Hon Mutahi Kagwe, the Cabinet Secretary for Health in Kenya.
In his remarks, Dr Patrick Amoth, the Director General at the Ministry of Health urged all counties to regularly monitor the performance of the health sector and address any emerging gaps to meet the high expectations among citizens reiterating that access to health is the right of every Kenyan as enshrined in the Kenya Constitution 2010.”
QHKA is a brainchild of Zawadi Brand Solutions Limited (ZBS Ltd) and has been working in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Amref Health Africa in Kenya to acknowledge exceptional performance and highlight impact of these contributions on the Kenyan health sector.
“Quality healthcare is an issue of social justice and human rights; failing to deliver healthcare services that improve the desired health outcomes for individuals and populations inhibits progress towards a more equitable and just society,’’ said Grace Ndegwa, Director and Co-founder of the Quality Healthcare Kenyan Awards.
"We set out to strengthen the quality of healthcare in Kenya, which is a key strategy to achieve better health outcomes by promoting a culture of continuous quality improvement and adherence to quality assessments. Though this is not a silver bullet to the problems ailing the sector, it is a step in the right direction towards improving the standards of service delivery." she said.
Dr Meshack Ndirangu, Country Director, Amref Health Africa in Kenya said,”There is an urgent need to build resilience in our health system. A resilient health system is able to continue delivering quality health services despite various shocks. Quality is a core pillar of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).”
UNFPA Kenya Country Representative, Dr Ademola Olajide highlighted the need of improving standards of health service delivery saying, "We will continue to work with the range of stakeholders and partners to continue to raise the bar, to ensure that women, girls and everybody in society gets the quality of services they deserve."
The QHKA support supported by various partners and sponsors including Smile Train Africa, United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA), SafeCare, Safaricom and Dymind.
The Awards had 17 flagship categories - three people choice ones open for voting by the public and 14 general ones, which were open to individuals and organizations in the health sector. Quality assessment using a scorecard derived from Kenya Quality Model for Health (KQMH) were used for assessing Health facilities.
The Winners of 2021 Quality Awards for Excellence in Healthcare Quality are:
1. Award of Excellence in Improving Access to Primary Care services - Shining Hope For Communities (SHOFCO)
2. Award of Excellence in Advancing Maternal and Child Health - Kisumu Medical and Education Trust (KMET)
3. Health Facility Innovation Project of the Year - Lifecare Hospitals - Bungoma
4. Student Innovation Project of the Year - Stephen Odhiambo Ogweno
5. Lifetime Achievement Award - Dr. Gianfranco Morino
6. Use of Information Technology to improve Patient Care - Access Afya - Akiba ya Roho
7. Best Use of Social Media in Healthcare - Population Services Kenya
8. Award of Excellence in Improving Access to Essential Medicines and Health Products - Glivec
International Patient Assistance Program (GIPAP), The Nairobi Hospital
9. Healthcare Financing Innovation Award - Mamaprime - Flexitech group
10. Health Leadership Award - Nasibo Sarbo
11. County with the best Managed Healthcare - Mombasa County
12. Award of Excellence in Response to COVID-19 - The Nairobi Hospital
People’s Choice Category
1. Private Hospital of Choice - Gertrudes Children Hospital
2. Public Hospital of Choice - Makindu Sub County Hospital
3. Faith Based/Mission Hospital of Choice - Kijabe (AIC) Hospital
Kenya to Host Virtual Award Ceremony to Honour Healthcare Providers
Nairobi, 7 April 2021: Selected hospitals, institutions, counties and individuals from across the country will be recognized for their outstanding performance, contributions and achievement in improving quality of healthcare through the second edition of the Quality Healthcare Kenyan Awards (QHKA).
The first of its kind in Kenya, QHKA seeks to award and honour excellence and innovation in the health sector for providing quality patient-centred care. Awards recipients will be recognized for their outstanding contributions to the Kenyan health sector during a virtual awards ceremony to be held on 7 April 2021.
“Providing a safe, efficient and quality health care services to all people are major prerequisite to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC). There is an urgent need to enhance Human Resources for Health at all levels of health facilities for the delivery of quality health services,” said Dr Meshack Ndirangu, Country Director, Amref Health Africa in Kenya.
QHKA is a brainchild of Zawadi Brand Solutions Limited (ZBS Ltd), which has been working in partnership with Amref Health Africa in Kenya to acknowledge exceptional performance and highlight impact of these contributions on the Kenyan health sector.
The QHKA Co-founder Ms. Grace Ndegwa commented: “The COVID-19 pandemic has made it evident that the health system needs to be strengthened in order to provide the highest attainable standards of healthcare for all citizens."The initiative takes a health systems strengthening approach to improve standards of health service delivery among health professionals by recognizing outstanding performance, fostering innovation and the use of information technology and sharing of best practices.
The initiative also unites the public and private sectors towards a common by creating a platform for collaboration. The awards present an opportunity for citizens to make their voices heard, by demanding, that which is their right – the highest attainable standards of health care for all.
The QHKA was made possible through the support of Ministry of Health, Kenya Healthcare Federation and sponsors; Smile Train Africa, United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA), SafeCare, Safaricom and Dymind
The 2021 Quality Awards for Excellence in Healthcare Quality will be awarded in the following categories:
- Award of Excellence in Response to COVID-19
- Award of Excellence in Improving Access to Primary Care services.
- Award of Excellence in Advancing Maternal and Child Health
- Health Facility Innovation Project of the Year
- Student Innovation Project of the Year
- Lifetime Achievement Award
- Use of Information Technology to improve Patient Care
- Best Use of Social Media in Healthcare
- Award of Excellence in Improving Access to Essential Medicines and Health Products
10 Healthcare Financing Innovation Award
11 Health Leadership Award
12 County with the best Managed Healthcare
People’s Choice Category
13 Private Hospital of Choice
14 Public Hospital of Choice
15 Faith Based/Mission Hospital of Choice
The virtual award ceremony will be streamed via;
Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/QHKAwards
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe8eUgiPSIUFOTSKUXPgy1A