Sidra Medicine, a specialty children’s, young people and women’s healthcare organisation, will have the phased opening of its main hospital building on January 14, 2018, and has announced details on how patients can access care.

A member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, Sidra Medicine will continue to see patients via referrals and by appointment only.

Children, young people and women coming to Sidra Medicine must be referred by a physician from Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) clinics or Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) centres. No walk-in or emergency services will be available.

The first inpatients for both children’s and women’s services for the main hospital have already been registered and scheduled. Admissions in the first few months will be through the Sidra Medicine Outpatient Clinic and in collaboration with HMC. Sidra Medicine will offer more inpatient services during the course of 2018.

On January 14 and during the first weeks of opening, Sidra Medicine’s inpatient services include paediatric medicine (gastroenterology, endocrinology and adolescent medicine) and elective general surgery for children and young people while its women’s service will only be doing elective caesarian deliveries. All other deliveries (even for patients currently registered and receiving their antenatal care at Sidra Medicine) will be at HMC until the women’s services are fully operational by mid-2018.

The emergency department at Sidra Medicine will become operational towards mid-2018. In the meantime, in the event of an emergency, parents and mothers-to-be should visit their nearest paediatric emergency centre or the Emergency Department at HMC.

Dr John Ferguson, chief medical officer, said, “Sidra Medicine has been setting new standards in care since the opening of our Outpatient Clinic in May 2016. As we gear up to welcome our first inpatients on January 14, their continued safety and comfort is of utmost importance to us. Inpatient services at the main hospital are being phased over the course of 2018.”

Dr Abdulla al-Kaabi, executive chair of the Children’s Services Clinical Management Group, executive vice chief medical officer and member of the Board of Governors, said, “We are less than three weeks out from taking one of the biggest steps in helping to advance the specialist care of children and adolescents and maternity services in Qatar. Our team is focused on ensuring all patients receive individualised care that addresses their specific needs.”

Physicians who have referred patients to Sidra Medicine are encouraged to continue doing so using the referral guidelines posted on the Sidra Medicine website.

• Plans are underway to also accept referrals from physicians from other healthcare institutions in the country. Sidra also has an international referrals office that reviews referrals from abroad.

• Patients need to discuss their preferences with their primary or secondary physician who will refer them to the most appropriate provider based on individual assessment. At this stage, there will be no direct referrals of pregnant women (obstetric patients) from PHCC to Sidra Medicine. These referrals will be determined/ triaged at HMC by both Sidra Medicine and HMC doctors.

• At this time, referrals for children and young people can be received from HMC and PHCC clinics.

• At this stage, there are no direct referrals of pregnant (obstetric) patients from PHCC to Sidra Medicine. PHCC and other care providers will continue to refer all pregnant women to HMC. These will then be reviewed and triaged by both Sidra Medicine and HMC doctors to either Sidra Medicine or HMC outpatient clinics for care.

• Once a referral has been made, a patient’s existing healthcare provider will coordinate with them to schedule and confirm a consultation with a Sidra Medicine physician. The patient will be contacted to schedule an appointment.

• Over the next few weeks, some children’s appointments from HMC will be transferred to Sidra Medicine. Patients will be notified by Sidra Medicine about their next appointment. Please call +974-4003-3333 for more details.

• Sidra medicine will see specialist cases across several specialties as outlined on the Sidra Medicine website: http://www.sidra.org/referrals-and-patients/referral-guidelines/

• Sidra Medicine treats children who require its specialist services from birth through 18 years of age. Women with high-risk pregnancies will also be referred to Sidra Medicine by their attending physicians.

• Referral guidelines can be found on the Sidra Medicine website: http://www.sidra.org/referrals-and-patients/referral-guidelines/

• Physicians can call +974-4003-3333 or visit www.sidra.org for more information.