Upholding Quality and Patient Safety during COVID-19 Pandemic—A Jordanian Case Study

Abstract

Background: The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic caused a rapid increase in demand for healthcare services over a prolonged period, and the hospital emergency preparedness system has been essential. Therefore, this study aimed to explore Jordanian hospitals’ response to emergency situations and examine the underlying role and effect of accreditation programs as a “Quality and Patient Safety” tool to deal with emergency situations during the pandemic. Methods: An online survey for a cross-sectional study was conducted in Jordan between 1 March and 30 May 2022, to examine the opinions of hospitals’ top, senior, and middle managers using a validated questionnaire. Results: A total of 200 healthcare providers from 30 hospitals participated in the study. From the areas within accreditation standards that were investigated, capacity building on emergency preparedness and communication abilities received the least scores (2.46 and 2.48, respectively). Additionally, hospitals with mature quality and patient safety culture (>3 accreditation cycles) demonstrated a statistically significant difference in score in two domains–emergency preparedness (p = 0.027) and infection prevention and control (p = 0.024). Conclusions: During outbreaks, hospitals that are required to comply with accreditation standards that address all emergency preparedness aspects will fare better in quality performance.