3rd WHO Quality Management Training Course On Blood Transfusion Services In The Western Pacific Region

04 Oct 2004

By Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman, Parliamentary Secretary (Health)

Venue: Health Sciences Authority

Dr Han Tieru, WHO Representative, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore

Dr Tan Chor Hiang, Chief Executive Officer, Health Sciences Authority;

Distinguished Guests;

Ladies and Gentlemen

It gives me great pleasure to deliver the keynote address this morning at the opening ceremony of the 3rd WHO Regional Quality Management Training Course in Blood Transfusion Services, and to officially open the new Donors' Refreshment Lounge in the Health Sciences Authority (HSA).

Two years ago, the World Health Organisation (WHO), in partnership with our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Health Sciences Authority, embarked on its Quality Management Project in this Region by organising the 1st Quality Management Training Course (QMT). Many of our participants here today would have been present at that inaugural training course or would have attended the 2nd QMT held last year. The knowledge you had gained then would have enabled all of you to return back to your home countries to develop and strengthen the quality systems in your blood transfusion services.

It is often said, "Quality is a journey, not a destination". We are never done in our continuous quest to make sure that we do the "right things the right way". In our healthcare institutions, where patients trust us with their health, well-being and even their lives, doing the right things the right way is of overriding importance. Similarly, in the blood transfusion service, we can only provide our patients with a safe, effective and adequate blood supply through a continuous and focused emphasis on these simple basic quality principles.

But Quality cannot happen just because we say it will be so. It requires constant consciousness, vigilance and careful effort in everything we do. It requires the contribution of every single person in the organisation. Quality isn't just about the blood bank director writing up quality manuals, or managers writing Standard Operating Procedures (or SOPs), or supervisors putting quality control samples into test systems. Quality must be a culture that permeates every single person in the organisation, and it must apply to every task - big and small.

It means that every single one of us must be competent and knowledgeable about our work: why we do what we do, what is the correct way to do it, and how can we do it better. It means taking pride in our work, and making sure that we give our best even to the smallest detail. Even the way we clean a worktable or a refrigerator can affect quality. For what is the point of using the most sophisticated and advanced infectious disease testing systems, if dirty worktables and storage areas affect our test results and contaminate the blood we transfuse?

The Quality culture requires that we learn to use the "grey matter between our ears". We have to break away from our routine familiar way of doing things by rote and by habit. We have to start doing our work intelligently and constantly seek better ways of doing it. This can only be achieved if we build strong foundations in our people, with good training and continuing education. We need to train them in the principles and practice of quality, so that they can be equipped with the knowledge and skills to achieve their best. Through knowledge, we are able to impart to our people the motivation and self-confidence to be able to do the right thing the right way. We can never achieve Quality if it is practised only when the Quality Manager or supervisor is around. It must be a way of life, to be practised every minute of every day, every week, all the time.

Quality management must also involve every stage of the blood transfusion process, from the moment the blood donor steps through the doors of the blood bank right up to the moment when the donated blood enters the patient's veins. In the last two decades, we have seen immense changes sweeping blood banks worldwide. Strict guidelines, stringent regulatory requirements, and rapid technological advancements now control the consistency and quality of blood products prepared from each donation and the accuracy and reliability of the tests performed. In developed countries, the risk of viral transmission by transfusion is extremely small; achieved at great costs through increased donor deferrals, the introduction of more and more testing for infectious diseases, and the implementation of ever more complicated processing steps.

This has left us with two areas that are still difficult to control but equally important to transfusion quality: donor selection and clinical transfusion practice. I will focus on donor selection.

The safest blood comes from blood donors who voluntarily come forward to donate blood regularly to the community, and who do so with no expectation of material rewards, other than the satisfaction of knowing that they have helped another fellow human being. Blood banks that aim to provide safe and high quality blood and components must work to recruit and retain such donors.

Many processes in our lives have undergone complete transformation through technology. But blood donation still remains a personal act of giving that cannot yet be replaced. While we may rely on automated machines and computers to do much of our work today, we still need human beings to walk in to the blood donation centre, to sit down, extend their arm, and have a needle inserted into their veins to donate a unit of blood. Our blood donors give much of their time and effort to come forward to give this gift of life. But today, for every donor who comes forward, we have ninety-nine others who stay away.

Many factors deter people who may be motivated by altruistic desire to help the community; be it fear of needles, insufficient time, lack of knowledge about blood donation, or a previously unhappy blood donation experience. Blood services must therefore learn to improve the quality of their relationship and interaction with their blood donors. We must learn to build and maintain lasting and mutually beneficial relationships with altruistic, well-motivated and committed blood donors.

We can so this by providing every blood donor with the highest quality donor care that is available. Quality donor care means that the blood donor must be able to receive good standards of medical and nursing care to protect his health and safety during the donation. More than that, quality donor care also means treating every blood donor as an important customer. We must talk to our donors so that they understand the importance of donating safe blood, and to make them feel that they are valued for their community service. In turn, donors will know they are making an important contribution to the community to provide safe blood and will take the responsibility upon themselves to ensure that their blood is safe.

It is therefore with great pleasure that I am here to officiate at the opening of the new Donors' Refreshment Lounge here at the HSA today. This is part of continuous efforts by the Centre for Transfusion Medicine of HSA to upgrade blood donation facilities so that our blood donors can make their blood donation in a comfortable and pleasant environment. It is hoped that all our blood donors will enjoy taking their post-donation refreshments in their new lounge. The Bloodbank@HSA will continue to introduce new initiatives to make the blood donation experience more convenient and enjoyable, so that more Singaporeans can be encouraged to donate blood.

In closing, I would like to thank the WHO staff and our CTM in HSA for their hard work and dedication in organising this project. The QMT courses would also not have been possible without the strong support of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs through its Singapore Cooperation Programme. Through the partnership and cooperation of these three organisations, and with the commitment and enthusiasm of our participants and facilitators, we have been able to take concrete steps towards better quality management in our blood transfusion services and strengthening blood safety and quality in our Region.

I wish all the participants and facilitators a fulfilling and fruitful quality journey over the next two weeks. And just as all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, I will also encourage all of you to take time away as well to enjoy the food and sights in our country.

It now gives me great pleasure to declare this 3rd WHO Regional Quality Management Training Course in Blood Transfusion services open.