HOSPITEN's commitment to quality can be seen in the fact that the Group's centres have been certified in accordance with the most exacting European and American rules and standards, having obtained the AENOR Certificate of Quality, under ISO 9001:2000 international regulations and ISO 14001:2004 regulations on the management of the environment.
These certificated extend to all areas and services offered in our hospitals, from Accident & Emergency, Outpatients, Hospitalisation, Operating Theatres, ICUs and Laboratories to support services, such as Maintenance, Linen, Cleaning Services etc.
The new ISO 14001:2004 regulations came into force in November 2004. For that reason, within the framework of the Annual Strategic Plan, the company decided that the Sistema Integrado de la Calidad y de Gestión del Medio Ambiente (Integrated System for Quality and Management of the Environment) ought to be adapted to the new regulations.
External audits were carried out over the course of December 2004 at the HOSPITEN hospitals in the Dominican Republic and Mexico, it being decided that these be conducted under the new environmental regulations. As a result of those audits, our Caribbean centres were the first to be certified under the new ISO 14001:2004 regulations, as well as being the first hospitals in Spain, Mexico and the Dominican Republic to obtain such certification.
Having such a system for guaranteeing quality carries a number of advantages, above all on a competitive level. We have continued to increase levels of overall patient satisfaction levels during the treatment process; personnel motivation has risen in such a way as to pass it on to our clients; and we have achieved greater efficiency in the development of our activities.
It must be highlighted that the hospitals holding Quality and Environment certificates also obtained the Integrated Certificate for Quality and Environment under the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 international regulations, this certificate will allow integrated quality and environmental audits to be carried out.
By applying this system, we hope to make all our centers ecological hospitals or "Ecohospitals".
It must be stressed that none of this would have been possible without the efforts of all the people working at Hospiten centres, who have completely come to terms with the fact that medical hospital services and protecting the environment are two fundamental objectives for our organisation.