The Ministry of Health (MOH) in Kuwait has always been committed to keep up with the most recent evidence based medical practices. In 1978, MOH started to pay a greater attention to patients’ care in the newly emerging field of infection control.
In 1979, a study in Al Sabah Hospital- Surgery Department was conducted to estimate the cost of hospital acquired infections on the basis that all patients in the Surgery Department had stayed an extra day as a result of this infection. It has been found that the cost in a single month was up to fifty thousand dinars. Based on this study, a Central Committee for Infection Prevention and Control was established by a ministerial decree No. 125/1980 to apply the following:
– Surveillance of hospital acquired infections
– Training in infection prevention and control
– Isolation policies
– Disinfection and sterilization policy
– Environmental cleaning in hospitals
– Hospital design and construction
– Outbreak management
– Medical waste management
– Antibiotic policy
Implementation of these programs reduced the rates of hospital acquired infections. The Central Committee held two conferences in November 1981 and November 1982. They were among the first international conferences held to prevent infections in hospitals.
The Central Committee was restructured into a Directorate of Infection Control and Quality Assurance in 1985 by the ministerial decree no. (166).
In 2001, a separate Directorate for Infection Control was established by a ministerial decree No. (357).
