The General Directorate of Traffic, represented by the Traffic Awareness Department, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hamad Medical Corporation's Hamad Trauma Centre on scientific partnership and co-operation for prevention of road traffic injuries.
The MoU was signed by Director of Traffic Awareness Department at the General Directorate of Traffic Lt
Col Mohamed Radhi al-Hajri and HMC's Head of Trauma Centre Dr Sheikh Hassan al-Thani.
The MoU aims:
1.To Promote communication and co-operation between both sides on creating awareness about traffic safety in the community and the most vulnerable groups in the country.
2.To Extend information on risks to those involved in awareness programmes, the prevention of injuries caused by traffic accidents and to spread up-to-date and accurate traffic safety information in co-operation with the media.
3.To Exchange best practices on traffic safety in Qatar in the fields of monitoring, databases, prevention, and handling injuries caused by traffic accidents with various State entities. The co-operation also covers conducting research and issuing joint publications to improve existing practices with respect to traffic safety in Qatar, according to the requirements of the research ethics rules issued by the Institutional Review Board, medical research centers and HMC.
4.To Extend invitations to employees to hold talks and exchange views and expertise.
5.Provides for the exchange of information and data in the areas of concern of the Hamad Centre for Accident Injuries and Traffic Awareness Department, in accordance with the policy of access and use of the National Accident Injury Data.
6. To standardise scientific terminology in the field of statistics and increase awareness between the two sides, in addition to the exchange of information on the evaluation of activities and events, measuring the impact of awareness before and after implementation, as well as organising joint lectures in the field of diseases that hinder driving and methods of prevention.
In this context, Dr Sheikh Hassan al-Thani pointed to the importance of the MoU in reducing the number of accidents and considering it as a step forward in achieving zero road traffic fatalities, pointing to the importance of information as a strategy for building an integrated health system with the General Directorate of Traffic.
Meanwhile, Colonel Mohamed Radhi al-Hajri stressed that the memorandum of understanding strengthens the links between the General Directorate of Traffic and Hamad Medical Corporation in the fields of awareness of road users, which raises the level of safety, and the formulation of policies and strategies that reduce fatal accidents.
He said that the roles of the General Directorate of Traffic and Hamad Medical Corporaton are integrated, explaining that the injuries caused by traffic accidents are handled by the HMC.
He also pointed to the costs incurred by the State for treatment and rehabilitation.
Colonel al-Hajri added that the partnership seeks to raise awareness and facilitate information exchange that helps reach the goal of achieving a zero road traffic fatalities and reducing the expenses of treating the victims of road traffic accidents.