By Joseph Varghese/Staff Reporter
The Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) will soon open a new Communicable Diseases Hospital that will provide excellent healthcare services and academic research.
The state-of-the-art hospital will be located within the Hamad Bin Khalifa Medical City to care for patients with serious infectious diseases.
Dr Hanan al-Kuwari, managing director of HMC said: “It is expected that the new hospital will be completed by the third quarter of this year. Most probably we will be able to complete the other formalities and the commissioning of the hospital within a short period of time. We expect that it will be operational by late 2015 or early 2016.”
According to D Abdullatif al-Khal, deputy chief of Medical, Academic and Research Affairs and director Medical Education, HMC, the new hospital will contribute to scientific research and healthcare excellence in the country.
“The new facility will have 65 beds in single rooms which have the capacity of being converted into isolation units. It will work very closely to control the spread of several infectious diseases and will meet the healthcare needs of Qatar’s population irrespective of their nationality,” he said.
“Several infectious diseases such as swine flu, Sars and Mers among others, will be handled at the hospital. It will also provide outpatient services such as travel medicine,” al-Khal said.
"A major component of the new hospital will be education and research. It aims to sustain a healthy nation by educating the public in managing communicable diseases that have public implications such as TB, influenza, HIV and travel-related diseases and infections. Highly qualified medical professionals will give high quality treatment and educational facilities,” the official added.
Al-Khal also noted that the new hospital will provide international level specialised treatment and services that are available only overseas at present. According to the official, it will provide high quality patient care and medical research and contribute new knowledge for generations to come.
The hospital will be a leading facility for travellers to obtain requisite vaccinations before their visits abroad and will also be a centre that can provide assistance and care if they have any major concerns following trips overseas.
With a highly specialised team of physicians and nurses and experienced support staff, the hospital will dedicate resources to medical informatics. A focus on immunology and infections will assist with data collection and enable the hospital to play a key role in supporting national public health initiatives.
