Prof Ziyad Hijazi: chair of the Department of Paediatrics, and acting chief medical officer of Sidra.

The Sidra Medical and Research Center yesterday unveiled detailed plans for its state-of-the-art Cardiovascular Centre of Excellence.
The centre will provide children, including newborn babies and adults born with congenital heart disease, with the highest standards of care. The centre aims to become a global leader in improving care and outcomes for patients with congenital heart disease.
“It is a source of pride and commitment from the team at Sidra to set up the Cardiovascular Centre of Excellence to world-class standards. Our collaboration between the Cardiovascular and Neonatology Centres of Excellence will also set Sidra apart as an international leader in the care of premature infants with congenital heart disease,” said Prof Ziyad Hijazi, chair of the Department of Paediatrics and acting chief medical officer of Sidra.
There will be five centres of excellence under Sidra, each of which focuses on delivering world-class care in a key aspect of children’s and women’s health. The four other centres are for neonatology (the care of newborn infants), foetal therapy and intervention, reproductive medicine and  in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and genetics and genomic medicine.
“The Cardiovascular Centre of Excellence will offer the people of Qatar care of a quality that very few other hospitals in the world are able to deliver,” Prof Hijazi explained.
“The pioneering research initiatives spearheaded by the cardiology team will advance the international medical and scientific community’s  understanding of key aspects of cardiovascular medicine to benefit people everywhere for generations to come.”
The Cardiovascular Centre of Excellence will be staffed by a large team of experts in the field and led by Prof Hijazi, who is also an interventional cardiologist specialising in treating congenital and structural heart disease in both children and adults.
Two co-directors, a chief of cardiac surgery and a chief of cardiology, will work alongside Prof Hijazi. In addition, seven medical directors will be attached to the centre of excellence, providing expertise in vital areas such as non-invasive cardiology, cardiac critical care and cardiac catheterisation. To Page 12




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