The Hamad Medical Corporation’s dietetics and nutrition department has prepared over 60 special recipes for patients needing special diets such as diabetics and those suffering from high cholestrol, cystic fibrosis, cardiac problems, kidney stones and gastro-surgical problems.
The patients are also benefitting from the dietary study being carried out by the department.
The department also provides therapeutic meal services to thousands of patients as well as creates special diets for people suffering from genetic diseases such as homocystinuria, which necessitates patients to eat only low protein special diets.
Since the inception of HMC, the department has been playing a major role as a paramedical department, working in conjunction with the other HMC medical divisions in the patient care process by supplying the prescribed diet, nutritional assessment and advice for patients in order to reduce the total days of hospital stay.
“Improving the total health of the patient, increasing their resistance to infections, better outcome and reducing total cost is still at the heart of our department’s service,” dietetics and nutrition department acting head Maisoun Maraka said.
The official mentioned that the department currently runs 36 clinics in various HMC hospital settings at Women’s Hospital, Hamad Hospital out-patient department, endocrine unit, paediatric unit and Genetic Screening and Treatment Centre.
“Our dieticians prepare special menus for homocystinuria affected patients and are on call 24 hours to help and provide information for families. We involve the families by teaching them how to prepare a special low protein diet for their children,” Maraka explained.
She said the mission and vision of the department was to provide patient assessment and counselling and to supply the most appealing and best quality therapeutic food which suit different types of diet.
“Additionally, we aim to meet the acceptance and satisfaction of our patients by using the most updated internationally recognised technical standards,” she said, adding: “From treating paediatric cases to adult patients, the department has over the years gained a valuable insight into the causes and effects of certain diets on patient health and have created special diets even for tube fed patients.”
She added that the dieticians have also created special food diets for patients, who cannot chew or swallow their food. |
