Islamic leadership in hospital-associated cluster of Covid-19 management

• Main Authors: Zainulabid, Ummu Afeera, Abu Hassan, Muhammad Abdus-Syakur, Mohd Rus, Razman, Adnan, Mohd Syafwan, Kamarudin, Norhidayah, Saidin, Nur Amira, Bachok, Nur Farhana, Ahmad, Hajar Fauzan, Expert, Paul, Abdul Razak, Fatimah
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: QA Mathematics; RC Internal medicine; RC111 Infectious and Parasitic Diseases
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/97359/1/Islamic%20leadership%20in%20hospital-associated.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/97359/; http://book.sasmec.edu.my/books/rwce/
• Institution: Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia

Introduction The pillar of accountability embodies the notion of leadership, which is greatly emphasised in Islamic culture. 'Each of you is a guardian and is responsible for his subjects,' says the Prophet Mohammad in the Hadeeth (Saheeh al Bukhari: 212). Here we share our experience in managing hospital-associated cluster of Covid-19 at Sultan Ahmad Shah Medical Centre @ IIUM that was inspired by Islamic leadership principles. Methodology Exercise of justice, fulfilment of trust, observance of righteousness, perseverance in doing what is right, and keeping commitments are some of the operational principles that Muslim leaders should follow. The four dimensions of Islamic leadership are: God-consciousness, competence, consultation, and consideration (The 4C model). Based on those principles, the hospital leaders, all hospital management team, rapid assessment team (RAT), experts comprising mathematician and researcher in genomic sequencing together with Emergency Disaster and Crisis Center (EDCC) got together and coordinate the outbreak management. Results We share our experience in investigating and managing one of the large SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in a “non-covid” hospital ward that affect nearly total 46 individuals in August 2021. The representative sample was sequence and revealed that this outbreak is due to delta variant. Conclusion A multidisciplinary approach, good infection control measures, an adequate planning and response strategy, and individual-level compliance within the hospital population and importantly a good leadership can all help ensure the safety of a hospital population during the COVID-19 pandemic. Acknowledgment We would like to thank all the leaders, physicians, healthcare workers and all who contribute directly and indirectly for their contribution during the outbreak investigation.