The Minister of Energy and Industry H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada at the 2nd QP Occupational Health expo.
DOHA: The Minister of Energy and Industry H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada yesterday called on the participants of the 2nd Qatar Petroleum Occupational Health (QPOH) conference to help adopt the highest standards to elevate health awareness, and to promote health and wellness as well as an improved working environment.
The Minister formally inaugurated the three-day event being held here on the theme ‘Innovations for a Healthy Workplace’ organised by QP in partnership with the Supreme Council of Health (SCH).
The QPOH event features the participation of international speakers, renowned experts and many professionals in the field of occupational health, thus giving them an opportunity to discuss a wide range of topics related to occupational health management.
In his keynote address Dr Al Sada stressed the importance of safety, health and wellness at the workplace as the cornerstones of efforts to put the human element first. “Good health does not just mean the absence of disease or infirmity, but also a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being,” he said.
He said that QP’s higher standards and routine checkups have resulted in raising the level of ‘fitness to work’ in industrial operations to 100 percent.
“As a world class oil and gas corporation, QP has one of the lowest sick leave absence levels among international oil and gas companies, with an average of 1.4 percent of total work days compared to a range of between one and four percent,” he noted.
Dr Al Sada also visited a new diabetes screening bus launched by Action on Diabetes as part of a major workplace campaign to raise awareness of the condition and boost the number of people tested in Qatar.
Conference Chairman and Acting Manager for Medical Services at QP, Dr Ahmed Al Badran, delivered the introductory remarks followed by a speech from Sheikh Thani bin Thamer Al Thani, Deputy General Manager of Qatar Shell. Senior officials of QP and many guests were also present at the opening ceremony of the event.
Over 250 delegates, consisting mainly of medical officers, occupational health nurses, industrial hygienists, health, safety and environment (HSE) personnel and other industry professionals, are taking part in the event.
The second edition of the QPOH Conference will feature technical presentations, parallel sessions, poster presentations as well as workshops on the last day of the event.
The presentations will cover an extensive range of topics, including the emerging health issues in the oil and gas industry, the best practices for creating healthy workplaces, cost-effective health surveillance, handling disability issues in the workplace, and effective case management for occupational health nurses.
The event is supported by Qatar Shell, Oryx GTL, Qatargas and Qatar Fuel Additives Company Ltd (Qafac).
The Peninsula
