HH Sayyid Dr. Fahad bin Aljulanda Al Said, Assistant Secretary General for Innovation Development, the Research Council (TRC) inaugurated today (Saturday) the first Royal Hospital International Conference at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Center with the presence of H.E. Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Al Saidi, Minister of Health, as well as number of their Highnesses and Excellencies. The three-day conference is organized by the Ministry of Health (MOH) represented by the Directorate General of Royal Hospital in collaboration with the Oman Medical Specialties Board (OMSB) and the Oman Medical Association (OMA).

The inauguration ceremony included the conference speech delivered by Dr. Qassim Ahmed Al Salmi, RH Director General underlining the Royal Hospital achievements and remarked on its first international medical conference. Dr. Qassim Al Salmi stated that in addition to the main building, the RH embraces currently five national specialized centers, containing 13 operation theatres and approximately 900 beds in order to provide the tertiary services of sub-specialties for all the Sultanate population.  He pointed out that collaborative efforts of 15 specialized departments affiliated with the RH have been exerted in the organization and enrichment of the conference evolving in 18 scientific programs run for three successive days.    

 The opening ceremony further included the organizing committee speech presented by Dr.  Bassim Jafar Al Bahrani, National Oncology Center Director and Chairman of Conference Organizing Committee. Dr. Al Bahrani  clarified that the concept of a joint conference of various specialties under one umbrella is a new concept in Oman. He emphasized that such concept is particularly important for a country like Oman where the number of specialists in individual disciplines are not too many. Further, for the young graduates, this kind of joint conference provides a good platform to interact with several experts from abroad which could help them choose their specialty and future education programs. This thought process have resulted in the 1^st  Royal Hospital
International . He declared that for the very first time 15 Departments of the Royal hospital are participating in this joint endeavor and organizing a multidisciplinary international three-day meeting, which includes several simultaneous sessions running in parallel. Dr. Al Bahrani added that during the 3 days meet, there will be 18 listed programs, 13 workshops, 84 scientific sessions, and 280 lectures. More than 220 eminent local and international faculty will be giving deliberations on current topics of interest from Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Canada, Egypt, France, India, Italy, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Portugal, Qatar, Spain, Sudan, Switzerland, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom.

Furthermore, Professor. Purvish Parikh, Director of Precision Oncology & Research at the Asian Cancer Institute, gave a keynote address carried the title “Who is responsible for the cancer patient”. The Lecture highlighted the role of Economy in combatting cancer through the necessity of raising awareness and likewise providing therapeutic services in addition to beneficiaries involvement.    

At the end of the ceremony, the patron of the event opened the accompanying exhibition of the pharmacy companies and medical equipment.

The conference witnessed a wide range of local and international participations of more than 3500 participants representing medical and assistant medical categories from the RH as well as Sultanate’s different health institutions, the private sector, and Associations, in addition to participants from the Gulf Countries Council (GCC).

The 1^st Royal Hospital International Conference will include the specialties of Anaesthesia, Critical Care, Child Health, Medical Laboratories (Microbiology, Biochemistry, Hematology, and Histopathology), Medicine, Genetics, Oncology, Nuclear Medicine, Nursing, Obstetrics & Gynaecology (Obs-Gyn), Pharmacy, Radiology, Surgery, Urology, and Emergency (ER).

Eight specialized scientific programs were launched today (Saturday) within the first day of the international conference that included Nuclear Medicine, Child Health, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Radiology, Anesthesia, ICU, Oncology, and Urology.

The 2^nd Nuclear Medicine Conference program aimed at exhibiting the current trends in the Nuclear Cardiology Imaging and highlight the use of Nuclear Medicine in Nephrology. Participants had an update on the State-of- the-art Technology used in SPECT/CT Hybrid Imaging. The conference further highlighted radiation safety aspects in Nuclear Medicine.

The event moreover addresses specialization of child health at Child Health Conference. Within three-day child health is studied in various domains namely are Adolescence Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Gastroentology,  Hematoncology, Infectious Disease, Immunology, in addition to Intensive Care Unit, Nephrology, Neurology, Pulmonology, and Surgery.

Obstetrics & Gynecology Conference addresses in two days different themes such as Fetal Medicine, Maternal Medicine, High Risk Pregnancy, Gynecology Oncology, Gynecology Endoscopy, and Reproductive Endocrine. The Obs & Gyne conference will further run a workshop on Monday on Cochrane Review.

Radiology Conference comes under the theme Advances in Diagnostic and Liver Imaging- Present and Future. The conference reviewed number of significant topics such as the principles and clinical implementation of Computer Aided Diagnosis, European Diploma of radiology. The participants were updated on Structured Reporting as well as the incidental Liver Lesion.

Moreover, Anesthesia Conference highlighted safety & quality in Anesthesia practice and crisis management in Anesthesia. The conference discussed as well cases on patient safety.

Critical Care Conference underlined critical care bundles and reviewed update on Sepsis management.

Furthermore, recent advances and updates on Breast Cancer, Lung Cancer, Gastro-Intestinal Cancer, and Genitourinary Cancer have been highlighted on the National Oncology Centre Conference that is held for two days.

Urology Conference addressed different domains related to urology such as tumor, stone, trauma, infection, and surgery. The conference’s working papers presented new frontiers in the management of advanced prostatic cancer, current perspective in the diagnosis and management of upper urethical cancer, as well as cytoreductive nephrectomy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma in era of targeted therapy. Lectures shed light on urolithiasis in the Sultanate and the management of Iatrogenic Ureteric Injuries. Major focus was made on minimally invasive surgical therapies for benign prostatic hypertrophy (MIST for BPH).

Yesterday (Friday) three pre-conference workshops were conducted. The first workshop concerned with Medical Physics, the second underlined Anaesthesia Ultrasound guided regional blocks, and the third focuses on Anaesthesia Bronchoscopy in critical care.

It should be noted that the conference carries 21 category 1 CME credit points of the Oman Medical Specialty Board to attendees of  the main program.

The conference is organized with the aim of exploring the latest advancements of the involved medical specialties, building up regional and international scientific expertise, in addition to viewing the innovative technology, drugs, and device of the pharmaceutical companies and medical equipment.