With more than 30,000 patients treated at Al Wakra Hospital’s emergency department each month, and upwards of 20,000 patients cared for by the hospital’s various outpatient departments, Al Wakra Hospital is Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) second busiest hospital.
Dr Sabah Alkadhi, medical director of Al Wakra Hospital, said the general hospital was designed, built, and staffed with the changing needs and expectations of the growing community in the country’s southern region in mind. He noted the importance of community-based hospitals in helping to improve access to specialised care and in turn the health of the population.
“Al Wakra Hospital is now HMC’s second-busiest hospital. We provide a full range of diagnostic and treatment services for outpatients and inpatients in the growing communities of Al Wakrah, Mesaieed, and the South Doha Airport area, preventing these patients from having to travel to Doha for much of their hospital care,” explained Dr Alkadhi.
“Al Wakra Hospital is home to Qatar’s only dedicated Burns Unit, the region’s first specialised Urinary Stone Centre, and the country’s first dental clinic for patients with special needs. Our Hernia Surgery Centre has been accredited by the Surgery Review Corporation as a Hernia Centre of Excellence, becoming the first hospital in the Middle East to receive this award. In the last year, we have introduced a number of new services and clinics, including a robotic surgery service for general surgery and urology. These services are helping to reduce waiting times and improve access to important care services. And we are continuing to focus on the future needs of our patients and are currently hosting our first group of residents from Qatar University’s College of Medicine,” added Dr Alkadhi.
Earlier this year 46 fourth-year medical students from Qatar University’s College of Medicine (CMED), including 19 Qatari nationals, began a clinical rotation at HMC’s Al Wakrah and Al Khor Hospitals. The rotation is part of a partnership between HMC and Qatar University designed to help meet the future healthcare needs of the country’s population. Mohamed al-Jaber, a fourth-year medical student at CMED, is currently completing the final month of his fourteen-week rotation at Al Wakra Hospital. 
“This rotation has allowed me to bring what I learned in the classroom to real-life medical situations. I feel confident in my ability to communicate with and examine patients. Every day I am interpreting the information I acquired during my classroom studies and using this as a roadmap to reach an accurate diagnosis for the health concerns of real patients, all under the supervision and guidance of experienced doctors. I am grateful for this experience and the opportunity to use what I learned during my pre-clinical years to help enrich the lives of real people,” said al-Jaber.
Fatima al-Mohannadi, also a fourth-year medical student at CMED, is currently completing her clinical rotation at Al Wakra Hospital. She said the rotation has allowed her to gain important hands-on experience interacting with patients.
“The rotation at Al Wakra Hospital has provided me with the opportunity to implement what I learned during my academic years in a clinical setting. HMC has given me the perfect atmosphere to ease myself into the clinical environment and to improve my skills under the guidance of competent physicians,” said al-Mohannadi.
Both al-Jaber and al-Mohannadi are part of the inaugural general medicine class from Qatar University’s medical college, graduating in 2021. 
Opened in 2012, Al Wakra Hospital is one of HMC’s largest facilities and is spread across more than 300,000sqm. With over 325 beds, including 234 general and acute patient beds and more than 90 critical care beds for high-dependency and burns patients, the hospital also has 77 observation and daycare beds.