*PM inaugurates new facility which has smart medical examination clinics

HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani on Thursday  inaugurated the Al Waab Health Centre, which can cater to 35,000 people.

The 7,903sqm healthcare facility is the 26th in the country and will serve residents of Waab Zone 55 area, Azizya, Freej Al Soudan 55 and 54, and Mehairja, the Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.

HE Sheikh Abdullah toured various sections of the new health centre and was briefed on its specialty clinics, medical services and other facilities such as smart medical examination clinics, dental services, audiology and physiotherapy, rehabilitation, and patient electronic portal, among others.

He was accompanied by HE the Minister of Public Health Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari and a number of senior officials from the ministry and Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC), as well as some Central Municipal Council members.

Speaking to reporters at a media tour, Al Waab Health Centre director Dr Mariam Saif al-Musallam said the new facility will help decongest the neighbouring health centres.

“We already have 8,000 people who registered at a rate of 300 a day, and we have 20 physicians who will be serving our patients,” she noted, adding that some 40 nurses, 15 administration staff, eight pharmacists, 10 laboratory staff, an optometrist, a dietician, a surgeon and seven dental doctors also serve the Centre.

The number of medical staff is expected to increase once the Centre reaches its full capacity, the director said.

The Al Waab Health Centre also has family medicine clinics, non-tertiary diseases clinics, women's health clinic, follow-up of pregnant and postnatal care, child clinic, vaccination and routine immunisation clinic, dental clinics, and nutrition.

Supporting medical services such as health education, radiology, ultrasound imaging for pregnant women, and treatment for gynaecological problems, among others, are also available at the Centre.

Dr al-Musallam noted that family medicine clinics aim to provide a continuity of healthcare for patients, who may not be required to visit the Centre frequently.

“This is part of primary healthcare’s efforts to expand geographically and ease the access to quality healthcare services for all patients in Qatar,” she said.

Lead physician Dr Elham al-Emadi and administration support head Johara Hamad Fetais said these clinics will have dedicated doctors monitoring the patients.

In a statement issued earlier, the PHCC noted that this model of practice provides a patient-centred team approach, great potential to transform the ability of family medicine to improve the health and healthcare of the nation.

A family medicine practice will enhance the patient experience, eliminating barriers to access service, providing an advanced information systems, with a focus on doctor, patient relationship, quality and outcomes, the PHCC said.

The PHCC opened two health centres in the first half of this year, in Al Wajba and Muaither.

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