Towards Effective Environmental Sustainability Reporting in the Large Industrial Sector of Bahrain

The industrial sector plays a vital role in economic development; therefore, there is a necessity to integrate sustainability into industrial development to maintain the economy and avoid any degradation impacts on the environment, and thereafter on society. Thus, do Bahraini companies have sustainability reports and if so, are these reports based on GRI guidelines? Has the status of their sustainability reports been analyzed? This research aims to examine the sustainability reports of companies by analyzing the status of sustainability aspects in their materiality matrices to assist in identifying and prioritizing the most significant sustainability issues for advancement in their future reporting and to improve their environmental performance. This study employs a content analysis approach and analyzes 11 reports from the period 2016–2020 for three companies in Bahrain’s large industrial sector. The study reveals that the companies using materiality analysis in their reporting benefit from better monitoring and measuring of their environmental performance, and from implementing SDGs. Furthermore, the study indicates that the utilization of a materiality matrix as a reporting tool can define and improve report contents by considering stakeholders’ views, consequently, improving the quality of the sustainability reports. The study concludes by proposing a set of recommendations.

PERTEKMA Financial Reporting Tool

A financial management system is essential for any organization to manage its cash flow and keep track of its spending and earnings. Currently, our faculty-student organization, Persatuan Teknologi Maklumat (PERTEKMA), still uses multiple Excel spreadsheets to log in financial records and depend on physical ledgers printed from the Excel sheet to keep track of its accounts. This project aims to develop a web-based system that keeps track of the PERTEKMA association's revenue and spending and prevents inconsistencies between different ledgers such as activity and kiosk ledgers maintained by various executive committees (Exco) members of PERTEKMA. The system's targeted users are PERTEKMA Exco members and the lecturers responsible for supervising PERTEKMA. The methodology used to develop the proposed project is the Rapid Application Development (RAD) model. An interview was carried out with two treasurers in PERTEKMA to obtain the requirements, and their suggestions were used to develop and design the proposed system. In addition, an interview session was carried out with two PERTEKMA advisors to collect the system requirements to design the system. The system developed aims to replace the current approach to managing financial records through a centralized online platform.

FEATURES OF PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY OF THE OLFACTORY NERVE IN COVIND-19

Sudden anosmia and/or ageusia is one of the first and significant symptoms With OVID-19, which are manifested in good health and a successful course of the disease. Purpose: to analyze neurological disorders in COVID-19 and present the results of peripheral neuropathy of the olfactory nerve. We present the results of 39 (32%) patients with olfactory dysfunction obtained among 121 patients with a positive RT-PCR test for COVID-19. The data was collected through a survey and questionnaire based on the AAO-HNS anosmia reporting tool. The majority of individuals (32 patients) did not have close contact with a positive case in the recent past. Most patients regained their sense of smell within 1-2 weeks of the onset of anosmia. To date, the mechanisms of anosmia in SARS-CoV-2 are not yet clear. It remains debatable whether anosmias are the result of nerve damage or inflammation of the olfactory nerves, which requires further research. Keywords: anosmia, loss of smell, dysgeusia, neuroinflammation, olfactory dysfunction, SARS-COV-2, COVID-19.

SP5.1.7 What did we miss? A 5 - year retrospective cohort study calculating the endoscopy miss rate for UGI cancers in a Scottish district general hospital

Aims Despite the widespread use of endoscopy, upper gastrointestinal (UGI) cancers still present at an advanced stage. As survival is closely linked to stage and time of diagnosis, failure to detect subtle precancerous changes at endoscopy may compound poor prognoses. This study calculates the miss rate of UGI cancer over a 5-year period at a district general hospital. Methods All patients diagnosed with UGI cancer between January 2015 - December 2019 were identified from a prospectively collected cancer registry. Electronic health records and Unisoft GI reporting tool were used to identify patient demographics and previous UGI endoscopies. ‘Missed cancers’ were defined as patients who had a normal endoscopy within 3 years of their cancer diagnosis. Results The median age at diagnosis was 72.2 years (age range 24 - 98, n = 408) with a male predominance of 2:1 (66.6% male vs 33.4% female) in keeping with UK statistics. Within this 5 year study period, there were 22 missed cancers (5.4%, n = 408). A year by year break down shows miss rate in 2015 of 3% ( 3,n=100), 2016 of 4.2% (5,n=120), 2017 5.5% (5,n=91), 2018 6.4% (6,n=94) and most recently in 2019 3.2% (3,n=94). Conclusions In 2014, a meta-analysis by S.Menon et al recorded a miss rate of 11.3%. More recently published UK studies report miss rates between 6% - 7.3%, more in keeping with our local rate of 5.4%. Further assessment is required to assess whether the 2017 BSG and AUGIS UGI endoscopy quality standard statement will improve this rate.

Confirmed malaria cases among under five children with fever and history of fever in Masogo sub-county, Kisumu county-Kenya

Background: The World Health Organization recommends that malaria treatment should begin with parasitological diagnosis. This will help to regulate misuse of anti-malarial drugs in areas with high transmission. Aim: Aim was to assess the prevalence of parasitological confirmed malaria among under five years children presenting with fever or history of fever attending medication at Masogo sub-county hospital. Setting: The study was conducted in Masogo Sub County, Kisumu County, Kenya. Data and methodology: The study used 2020 dataset from the laboratory MOH 706 reporting tool with a total number of 6787 children under five years old tested in the lab. Result: Of the 6787 test performed in the year 2020, 2225 (32.8%) turn positive to malaria parasite where there was high prevalence in female children at 1141 (51.3%) than male children 1084 (48.7%) of the total positive examined. Prevalence of the malaria among the age group bracket was high at 48-59 months old at 625 (28.1%) followed by 36-47 months 620 (27.9%), 24-35 months 450 (20.2%), 12-23 months 410 (18.4%) and lastly 0-11 months old at 120 (5.4%). Conclusions: Reasons for the increased of the prevalence as the age increased among the under five children need to be further explored and addressed, there is enough evidence that immediate action is needed to address the unique needs of this population. Such factors could include lack of net used and separation of the mother and the child from sleeping together or early birth after the child. Keywords: malaria; under five children; fever.

Enhanced faculty development: using the GMC survey to run a trainer development workshop

AimsTo investigate whether the General Medical Council (GMC) National Training Surveys (NTS) can be analysed to create a trainer development workshop that improves postgraduate training.BackgroundAs part of its role in quality assurance of medical training, the GMC conducts an annual survey of trainers and trainees. The Trainer survey, part of the NTS, consists of 47 questions which are grouped into 11 indicators of quality. At Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, we were keen to use the comprehensive data in the NTS to improve training. We analysed each question to create a workshop to engage trainers in discussion about improving the experiences of trainers and trainees.MethodOur analysis of the NTS used data from the online reporting tool to calculate the scores that were obtained for each question in the 2018 NTS. A question was discussed at the workshop if it performed poorly relative to other questions in the indicator; to provide useful information; or to clarify ambiguity. Indicators where interesting comparisons can be drawn between the views of trainers and trainees were also discussed. The 90-minute workshop was led by the Leadership and Education Fellow and Director of Medical Education. Attendees were subsequently sent an online survey.ResultThe workshop consisted of an introduction to the NTS; group discussion on which indicators were felt to be important, good- or poor-performing; discussion of specific questions; and a review of feedback from trainees.12 questions and 3 indicators (Handover, Supportive environment, Rota design) were discussed. 11 questions were chosen for poor performance, which sought to contextualise the results within the experience of attendees. 8 questions were chosen to provide information, such as resources and current initiatives. 3 were chosen to clarify ambiguity. Many questions met several criteria.17 attendees responded to the online survey. 64.7% agreed or strongly agreed that the NTS asks questions that are important for them. 76.5% agreed or strongly agreed that the NTS can be used to improve the trainer experience.In the subsequent NTS, there was an improvement in 9/11 indicators in the Trainer Survey, with four green flags denoting performance in the top quartile of trusts nationally.ConclusionThe NTS can be used to structure a workshop that trainers feel can improve their experience. Our strategy demonstrates the value of analysing the NTS dataset intelligently to engage trainers in improving training.