A workshop on Endoscopes Reprocessing, organized by the Ministry of Health (MOH) represented by the Directorate General for Disease Surveillance & Control, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded today (Thursday) at Muscat Holiday hotel.

Dr. Saif Al Abri, DGDS&C Director, and the WHO consultant for Endoscopy reprocessing and decontamination best practice Eng. Ahmed Ghatwary attended the workshop. It saw the participation of health workers from Infection Control and Prevention, sterilization technicians, specialists at the endoscopic equipment units and operations from the Sultanate’s different public and private hospitals.

On the sideline of the workshop, a three-day training program was conducted on assessment and follow up mechanisms for endoscopy sterilization. It included field visits to the Endoscopy units in number of MOH referral hospitals, in addition to the Units at the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH) and the Armed Forces Hospital (AFH). 

The workshop aimed at enhancing the provided health services in Endoscopy units and operations theatres, qualifying national expertise for the assessment and follow up according to the available certification programs in endoscopes reprocessing in order to prevent infection within the health institutions. The workshop introduced the participants to the best practices and skills of proper and safe cleaning and disinfection of Endoscope.

The event involved an exhibition displaying state-of-art equipment and techniques for sterilizing processing, in addition to the global updates in endoscopy storage that are implemented to prevent infection transmission and reduce burden on re-cleaning and disinfection of endoscopes.