The Ministry of Health (MOH) represented by the Directorate General of Specialized Medical Care, Respiratory Care Section organized today (Sunday) an event to mark World Respiratory Care Week, that is observed in the last week of October.

The event, took place at the Grand Hyatt Muscat, was held under the auspices of H.E. Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Al Saidi, Minister of Health, with the participation of health and medical staff.

This year’s theme for the Week is “Respiratory Therapists: Resilience, Strength, Hope”, honors and acknowledges every hard-working respiratory therapists. The celebration aimed further at spreading the spirit of cooperation among all respiratory care employees in the various hospitals of the Sultanate.

The program included a word delivered by Director General of SMC Dr. Kadhim Ja’far Suleiman where he highlighted the importance of the respiratory care profession and its effective role in enhancing the quality of care of patients, particularly those who depend on artificial respirators. The vital role of respiratory care specialists to health care made more evident than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic within the past two years at the Intensive Care Units settings.

Meanwhile, head of Respiratory Care Khalsa Al Siyabi, highlighted the initiative taken by the section in discharging patients on respiratory devices and providing them with home-care respiratory apparatus in cooperation with the private sector. The initiative resulted in reducing patients’ long stay in the hospitals, reducing the economic cost on health, decreasing the likelihood of infections transmission in hospitals among admitted patients due to their long stay, and allowing for admissions of more critical cases.

On the sidelines of the event, an awareness exhibition was held focusing on the significance of the respiratory care specialists with the participation of number of MOH’s hospitals, in addition to Sultan Qaboos University hospital and Armed Forces hospital.

At the end of the celebration, the patron of the event honored the contributing companies, ministry’s central committee, all employees in the respiratory care departments, and the central committee responsible for discharging patients.

 It should be noted that Respiratory Therapists are essential part in the health care system especially during covid-19 response. Currently,  there are  (74) respiratory therapists providing critical, safe, and effective respiratory care services all over the Sultanate’s hospitals for all ages.