* 14-bed unit can accommodate paediatric and adult patients requiring specialised intensive care following surgery
HE the Minister of Public Health Dr Hanan Mohamed al- Kuwari Tuesday opened the Ambulatory Care Centre’s (ACC) new intensive care unit. The state-of-the-art new facility is designed to provide critical care support and close monitoring to patients after emergency or elective procedures.
The newly established unit is located on the first floor of ACC, offering 14 ICU beds, including one isolation room, for surgical and medical patients. It is designed to accommodate adult patients needing intensive care services and paediatric patients in the observation unit.
HE Dr al-Kuwari said, “The specialised unit provides high-quality services for critically ill patients primarily from the three Medical City hospitals - the ACC, Women’s Wellness and Research Center and Qatar Rehabilitation Institute. The opening of this unit strengthens Hamad Medical Corporation’s ICU capacity and demonstrates our commitment to continually advancing the quality of care provided to patients.”
Dr Khalid al-Jalham, director of ACC, explained the strategic decision that led to the establishment of the ICU: “Traditionally, an ambulatory care facility provides patient assessment, and treatment for conditions that usually enables them to go home the same day or after a short stay in a medical ward. However, during the pandemic, the ACC facility was called upon to provide ICU care for patients and set up 10 interim ICU-beds in September 2020. In 2021, 409 adult and 77 paediatric patients were admitted to the ACC’s ICU for specialist care.”
The newly established unit is located on the first floor of ACC, offering 14 ICU beds, including one isolation room, for surgical and medical patients. It is designed to accommodate adult patients needing intensive care services and paediatric patients in the observation unit.
HE Dr al-Kuwari said, “The specialised unit provides high-quality services for critically ill patients primarily from the three Medical City hospitals - the ACC, Women’s Wellness and Research Center and Qatar Rehabilitation Institute. The opening of this unit strengthens Hamad Medical Corporation’s ICU capacity and demonstrates our commitment to continually advancing the quality of care provided to patients.”
Dr Khalid al-Jalham, director of ACC, explained the strategic decision that led to the establishment of the ICU: “Traditionally, an ambulatory care facility provides patient assessment, and treatment for conditions that usually enables them to go home the same day or after a short stay in a medical ward. However, during the pandemic, the ACC facility was called upon to provide ICU care for patients and set up 10 interim ICU-beds in September 2020. In 2021, 409 adult and 77 paediatric patients were admitted to the ACC’s ICU for specialist care.”
“This project was so successful that a decision was made to establish a permanent ICU within the ACC facility. The ACC ICU now offers critical care services with 14 beds that are equipped with state-of-the-art ICU equipment and staffed with highly trained ICU personnel,” added Dr al-Jalham.
Dr Nissar Shaikh, head of the ACC-ICU, explained that the unit follows the international guidelines modified to suit the facility and patient population: “We emulated the high-standard ICU set up in Hamad General Hospital to provide high-quality intensive care; our facility is therefore based on standards from Joint Commission International, College of American Pathologists and Compassionate Health Initiative. ACC-ICU ensures that the staff maintains their professional expertise and skills according to the latest evidence-based and best practices as followed by the international critical care societies around the world.”
The 14-bed unit provides Level 1 services of close monitoring for paediatric patients aged 28 days and above and adult patients aged 14 years and above. It also provides Level 2 & 3 services (High Dependency Unit & Intensive Care Unit) for adult patients above 14 years. The unit has a high nurse to patient ratio to ensure staff are able to focus on needs of the critically ill patients like monitoring and providing supportive care.
The ACC’s ICU admits a wide range of critical care patients with multiple medical conditions, usually following complex surgeries. Typically, these are for head and neck radical surgeries, high-risk and critically ill obstetrics and gynaecology patients, or complex and critically ill urology and ophthalmology patients. After stabilising these patients in the ICU, they will be transferred to a medical ward in ACC or, depending on what kind of patient they are, they can be transferred to the Women’s Wellness and Research Center or Qatar Rehabilitation Institute.
Dr Nissar Shaikh, head of the ACC-ICU, explained that the unit follows the international guidelines modified to suit the facility and patient population: “We emulated the high-standard ICU set up in Hamad General Hospital to provide high-quality intensive care; our facility is therefore based on standards from Joint Commission International, College of American Pathologists and Compassionate Health Initiative. ACC-ICU ensures that the staff maintains their professional expertise and skills according to the latest evidence-based and best practices as followed by the international critical care societies around the world.”
The 14-bed unit provides Level 1 services of close monitoring for paediatric patients aged 28 days and above and adult patients aged 14 years and above. It also provides Level 2 & 3 services (High Dependency Unit & Intensive Care Unit) for adult patients above 14 years. The unit has a high nurse to patient ratio to ensure staff are able to focus on needs of the critically ill patients like monitoring and providing supportive care.
The ACC’s ICU admits a wide range of critical care patients with multiple medical conditions, usually following complex surgeries. Typically, these are for head and neck radical surgeries, high-risk and critically ill obstetrics and gynaecology patients, or complex and critically ill urology and ophthalmology patients. After stabilising these patients in the ICU, they will be transferred to a medical ward in ACC or, depending on what kind of patient they are, they can be transferred to the Women’s Wellness and Research Center or Qatar Rehabilitation Institute.