In a remarkable turnaround after making headlines for all the wrong reasons in 2012‚ a government-funded hospital in East London is to receive a prestigious international accolade on Wednesday.
Frere Hospital was once notorious for its high infant death rate and delayed medical attention offered to patients. But now it is among six hospitals in the world that will be recognised at the 42nd World Hospital Congress in Brisbane‚ Australia.
The International Hospital Federation (IHF) is recognising Frere Hospital for its turnaround quality improvement project‚ the Daily Dispatch reported on Tuesday.
“It is extremely gratifying to receive such a prestigious recognition for the hard work our management and staff have put into turning Frere around under very difficult conditions‚” said Frere CEO Dr Rolene Wagner.
“We set out five years ago to provide world-class patient care so that every patient has the best possible outcome and a positive experience of care from our team of dedicated employees.”
The IHF judges looked at 118 health organisations in 33 countries‚ with 27 entries selected as finalists under the federation’s four categories.
Frere was in the group to receive the top IHF/Dr Kwang Tae Kim Grand Award.
“The Frere turnaround demonstrates that quality service is possible even in highly constrained environments‚” said Wagner.
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