Notwithstanding the changes brought in by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, the Hamad General Hospital (HGH) and its affiliated hospitals are open to the public to provide emergency services, a senior official of Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) said.
“Emergency cases can go to the various emergency departments, whereas non-emergency cases have been postponed to divert medical teams for the Covid-19 cases in other hospitals,” Dr Ahmed al-Mohamed, acting head of the Intensive Care Unit at HMC, said.
He was addressing a press conference on Thursday evening with Dr Abdullatif al-Khal, co-chair of the National Pandemic Preparedness Committee at the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and head of Infectious Diseases at HMC.
“More than 25,000 remote medical consultations are provided every week at hospitals that are not designated to deal with Covid-19 cases. These services were not available before and are required in the wake of the pandemic,” he noted.
Per week, the maternity teams are handling more than 400 cases, over 550 cancer patients are receiving chemotherapy, the ambulance service responds to more than 5,000 emergency calls per week, and in excess of 20,000 visits are recorded in the sections of emergency medical care.
“All this indicates that the services are provided as before and are continuing in full swing. The focus on facing Covid-19 cannot prevent the provision of other services,” the official observed.
The comprehensive health care strategy in place ensures providing the necessary treatment for Covid-19 patients as well as other patients.
“This strategy balances between facing the Covid-19 outbreak and delivering in parallel uninterrupted care for other diseases as well as emergency situations,” he said.
Dr al-Mohamed also briefed about services provided through the hotline 16000, one of the new initiatives launched on account of the Covid-19 outbreak.
He pointed to the need to spare those who need quick medical consultations or medicines from going to hospitals in-person to protect them from the possibility of contracting Covid-19.
The virtual service was provided to make available the services provided by the Hamad Medical Corporation and the Primary Medical Care Corporation as well as the new medicine delivery service, in addition to providing psychological support through this hotline either to the public or patients in hospitals as well. 
Related Story