Between 2015 and 2030, the number of hospital beds across HMC will increase from 2,100 to over 4,200 while car parking spaces will increase from 8,000 to 24,000
By Joseph Varghese
Staff Reporter
Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has announced a 15-year facilities master plan which will see a doubling of hospital beds and tripling of parking spaces.
Between 2015 and 2030, the number of hospital beds across HMC will increase from 2,100 to over 4,200 while car parking spaces will increase from 8,000 to 24,000.
A number of new hospitals and other facilities, which are under construction, will be completed soon while several other projects are under planning.
Patients will also benefit from increased healthcare services as the number of specialist clinics and the operating theatre capacity at HMC will be more than doubled during this period.
Between 2015 and 2030, specialist clinics will increase from 400 to over 1,000 and the operating theatre capacity will increase from 40 to more than 90.
The details of the master plan were announced yesterday by HMC managing director Dr Hanan al-Kuwari at a press conference.
Hamad al-Khalifa, chief of facilities at HMC; Dr Abdullatif al-Khal, deputy chief of Medical, Academic and Research Affairs and director of Medical Education, HMC; Dr Yousuf al-Maslamani, medical director, Hamad General Hospital; and John Smith, head of Facilities Planning, HMC, were present.
Dr al-Kuwari described the master plan as “a major expansion and modernisation of the country’s healthcare infrastructure and service delivery model which will result in extensive and lasting benefits to the patients and the nation”.
“Qatar is a modern and rapidly evolving country and its citizens and residents deserve easy access to sophisticated services and facilities as well as high quality healthcare,” Dr al-Kuwari stated.
“By bringing our Doha facilities together onto one unified campus, HMC’s expansion plans will bring comprehensive and integrated services and facilities to patients, visitors and our staff as well as providing the best environment to attract, retain and inspire the best talent. The new facilities are expected to turn the country into an international hub of healthcare services and facilities,” the official explained.
The plan, which is one of the region’s largest healthcare expansion projects, would see the regeneration of HMC’s central Doha campus and development of an integrated, nationwide network of hospitals, services and care centres.
HMC officials pointed out that the new plan would expand and unify HMC’s current sites to enhance the Hamad Bin Khalifa Medical City (HBKMC) into a high-tech healthcare, research and education district in central Doha.
Major features of the new HBKMC campus include unified clusters of clinical services, enhanced access for public transport including metro rail, more hospital beds and additional parking facilities.
The master plan also aims to transform HMC’s service delivery in areas outside of Doha with a network of new ambulatory care centres across Qatar. Hubs for secondary care will also be created at Al Khor, Al Wakrah, and Cuban Hospitals using the model of one programme of care across multiple sites.
The plan also includes a significant expansion of HMC’s services outside of Doha, bringing care and services patients need closer to them.
Dr Hanan al-Kuwari (centre) flanked by Dr al-Maslamani, Dr al-Khal, al-Khalifa, and Smith yesterday. PICTURE: Shemeer Rasheed
