HMC buttresses healthcare with new hospitals and services

Qatar’s healthcare sector is continuing to thrive offering world-class services to the citizens and residents despite the blockade against Qatar completing two years.Qatar has made rapid progress in healthcare by adding a number of modern facilities and several specialised services, with some of them being unique to the region and beyond. According to an official from Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), since the start of the blockade the healthcare provider has continued to expand, opening four new hospitals and establishing or expanding a range of services. In December 2017, the Qatar Rehabilitation Institute, Women’s Wellness and Research Center and Ambulatory Care Center were officially opened. The Hazm Mebaireek General Hospital was inaugurated in December 2018. HMC currently manages 12 hospitals with a total bed capacity of over 2,200. The healthcare provider also operates the National Ambulance Service and home and residential care services. In May 2019, HMC achieved its greatest international accreditation success to date with 13 of its facilities and services accredited by US-based Joint Commission International (JCI). This included accreditation for the first time for three new hospitals as well as the Hamad Dental Center and Mental Health Service. This represents the greatest number of JCI accredited facilities in Qatar to date. HMC also remains the only hospital system outside of the US to achieve corporate Academic Medical Center accreditation for all its hospitals simultaneously. Additionally, the National Ambulance Service, Home Healthcare Service, Stroke Service and Palliative Care, have all held this prestigious accreditation since 2011.Also in May this year, HMC announced the opening of a limited number of services at its new Trauma and Emergency Center. The start of services marks the first phase of a staged opening for the new facility, with the majority of services at the new centre expected to open over the coming months. Once fully operational, the new centre, one of the largest in the region, will lead to a significant expansion of trauma and emergency services in Qatar, ranging from trauma, urgent and critical care, to short stay and ‘See and Treat’ walk-in services. The new facility will also offer patients access to state-of-the-art technology including three CT scans, MRI, X-ray and ultrasound machines as well as an ultra-modern decompression chamber which will provide oxygen therapy for a range of medical conditions as well as diving accidents.An official noted that the blockade has also not impacted Qatar’s organ donation programme, and the country’s international reputation for organ transplantation and donation has continued to grow. Last year, Dr Yousuf al-Maslamani, medical director, Hamad General Hospital and head of the Organ Transplant Committee, was elected as vice president of the Middle East Society for Organ Transplantation and Prof Riadh Abdul Sattar Fadhil, director of the Qatar Organ Donation Centre, was named a World Health Organisation advisory expert in the field of organ donation and transplantation. Since the Qatar Organ Donor Registry was launched in 2012, over 345,000 donors have registered and HMC’s organ transplantation teams are continuing to perform life-saving procedures, with around 20 organ transplant surgeries taking place last year, and the first kidney transplant for a patient whose blood type was incompatible with that of the donor being performed earlier last month at Hamad General Hospital.The official confirmed that not only have services remained unaffected at HMC, but he said the blockade has provided an opportunity to demonstrate innovation and self-sufficiency. In fact, the blockade provided an opportunity to look inward to find new solutions and different ways of working to deliver services, which included developing relationships with new suppliers and working with local companies to explore opportunities to source Qatar-made products.The official added that since the blockade began, HMC has continued to care for patients from the countries involved in the land, sea, and air blockade, noting that patient rights should never be affected by political differences. HMC maintains a large stock of medication and medical supplies as part of its regular planning practices and at any given time has many months’ supply of medications and other vital items.Beyond HMC, the health sector as a whole has continued to flourish in spite of the blockade. Earlier this year Qatar was ranked 5th in the world for health by the Legatum Institute, a London-based think tank. In compiling the health ranking in the annual prosperity index, countries’ performance in three areas, including basic health outcomes, health infrastructure and preventative care, and physical and mental health were evaluated. Qatar is the only country in the region to score in the top five on the annual prosperity index, behind Singapore, Luxembourg, Japan, and Switzerland. The rise in the rankings from 13th place last year has been driven by the fact that Qatar has the highest life expectancy rate in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and globally ranks in the top 25% for healthcare access and quality. The country’s healthcare spending is also among the highest in the Middle East.Sidra Medicine, an ultrahigh tech speciality hospital for women, young and children became fully operational with its official opening in November 2018. The hospital is offering a number of unique services some of which are available for the first time in the country and the region. The hospital has also conducted a number of complicated surgeries and procedures very successfully. Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) continued to offer its services and rolled out the family medicine concept all across the health centres. More health centres were added to PHCC network with 27 health centres currently offering quality services across the nation.