The Deputy Minister of Health for Laboratories and Blood Banks, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Omar, opened yesterday, Sunday, the five-day training course and a workshop under the title: “Recent Trends in Approaching Poisoning Cases,” organized by the Poison Control and Forensic Chemistry Centers General Department, in collaboration with the Imam Abdulrahman Al-Faisal Hospital in Riyadh.
Meanwhile, Dr. Al-Omar explained that laboratories have become an essential cornerstone in the therapeutic process for any health or medical institution, adding, "We are working in the agency in line with short and long term strategies to improve the performance level and review the latest scientific and technical findings in this field."
He underlined that the work in the agency is based on three axes, namely developing the infrastructure, such as devices and other preparations, and maximally benefitting from technology to facilitate and accelerate the performance of these laboratories, whilst the second axis includes giving attention to manpower and boosting their efficiency through providing them with training, developing their skills and even sending them on scholarships as they are aware of the importance of such a thing in improving and developing therapeutic services.
Dr. Al-Omar went on saying that the last axis, which is not less important than the previous ones, is represented in reconsidering and developing work procedures in the laboratories and centers, considering them the bedrock of work, development and efficiency improvement.
He noted that the training course comes within the framework of the Ministry of Health (MOH) endeavors to train and improve the performance of its medical staff with different specialties throughout the health sectors, as well as enhancing the skills of emergency and primary health care physicians in dealing with poisoning cases, in line with the latest developments in toxicology.
On his part, the Director General of Poison Control and Forensic Chemistry Centers, Dr. Ra‘ed Al-Khayyal, has pointed out that this training course comes as part of the MOH plan to hone the skills of its medical staff throughout the health sectors and out of its staunch belief in the importance of its pioneering and central role in promoting the therapeutic services provided for patients all over the Kingdom.
Within the same vein, Dr. Al-Khayyal underscored that the training course includes for the first time training sessions on the third generation medical simulation device, highlighting that clinical cases of poisoning will be programmed in a manner that shows all symptoms of each case, thus helping the trainee discover signs of each case in addition to linking it with the best therapeutic ways used in such cases. He noted that most of the world's centers specialized in treating poisoning cases are using such a technology in training due to the scarcity of such cases and the difficulty of providing clinical training on them.
He went on adding that the qualitative objectives of the training course are to review the factors affecting the severity of toxic substances, acquire practical first-aid skills necessary for dealing with poisoning cases, get familiarized with the different ways for accurate diagnosis of poisonings, acquire the necessary skill for effective treatment of such cases, identify the optimal ways to get rid of poisons from the body and recognize the latest developments in poisoning treatment.
Besides, Dr. Al-Khayyal highlighted that the trainees are projected to acquire, by the end of the training course, the following capabilities: effective first-aid treatment of poisoning cases, accurate diagnosis of poisoning cases, the ability to appropriately treat common poisonings, the ability to get rid of body poisons, and getting acquainted with the latest developments in poisoning treatment.