The Women’s Wellness and Research Center (WWRC), part of Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), is marking the first anniversary of the transition of services from Women’s Hospital to the new state-of-the-art facility.
The new purpose-built facility has offered high-quality urgent care to more than 160,000 patients since its opening, introduced 23 additional services to enhance the patient experience and welcomed 169 new staff members to join more than 2,000 highly trained clinicians "already providing top-notch care at the hospital".


HMC’s WWRC is the region’s largest tertiary hospital dedicated to women’s health

The celebratory event also acknowledges the successful re-accreditation of WWRC by the Joint Commission International (JCI) – the US-based accreditation body that recognises healthcare organisations that demonstrate a commitment to providing the highest standard of patient care.
“WWRC is the largest tertiary hospital in Qatar and has the most extensive experience in caring for high risk pregnancies. In the last year, we have welcomed nearly 17,000 new babies into the world at WWRC and have witnessed an increase of about 20% so far this year. We have also started several new services and planning to introduce many more new services in the near future,” Dr Hilal al-Rifai, medical director of WWRC, told the media on Wednesday.


Dr al-Rifai was speaking at a press conference organised to highlight the achievements of the hospital so far. He was accompanied by WWRC officials John Ferguson, assistant executive director - operations and business development; Dr Zeena Saeed al-Mansoori, chairperson - obstetrics and gynaecology; Dr Huda Abdulla al-Saleh, executive director of quality and safety; Haila Syed Salim Johar, executive director for nursing services; and Dr Salwa Mohamed Abuyaqoub, senior consultant, residency training director and chair of education.
In 2017, HMC began a phased opening of WWRC, carefully transitioning services from the Women’s Hospital to the new facility. Starting with the opening of the outpatient Urogynecology Clinic in late-2017, various clinical and surgical services were transitioned to the new hospital with the full shift in services culminating with the delicate process of safely transporting over 100 babies from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Women’s Hospital to the new WWRC NICU in May 2018.
“We also celebrated a number of firsts, including members of our staff assisting with the successful separation of conjoined twins born at our hospital. In the last year, over 20 new clinics and services have been introduced at WWRC – all aimed at boosting the quality of care we provide to patients. Additionally, more than 160 new staff members joined our team of more than 2,000 highly trained clinicians,” Dr al-Rifai noted.
The first anniversary celebration also coincides with the successful re-accreditation of WWRC by the JCI. “We are happy to be having a double celebration – commemorating both the one-year anniversary of the successful transition of our care services for women and babies from the Women’s Hospital to the WWRC and our re-accreditation by the Joint Commission International. It is through the collective efforts of the staff that we have achieved so many important milestones during the past year. It is their dedication and teamwork that has made both the move to our new hospital and the JCI reaccreditation possible,” added Dr al-Rifai
At 72,000sqm, WWRC is the largest women’s tertiary hospital in Qatar and in the region. It is also home to the region’s largest Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that extends across two floors and is able to care for over 100 high-risk or critically ill newborns. 
WWRC has 240 private inpatient rooms, seven operating theatres, and 26 delivery rooms.
In a statement issued by HMC, Professor Adam Cairns, CEO of Medical City Hospitals and Al Wakra Hospital, called the anniversary an important milestone in HMC’s journey towards providing women in Qatar with safe and compassionate care.
“Being the main provider of secondary and tertiary healthcare in Qatar and one of the leading hospital providers in the Middle East, we are proud of our achievement of safely moving all of our services from the Women’s Hospital to the purpose-built WWRC. Our staff utilised their high-quality skills to ensure patients were not adversely impacted during the move,” noted Professor Cairns.