HE the Minister of Public Health Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari attended the opening of Qatar’s first acute weaning unit along with senior officials from Hamad Medical Corp (HMC) and Rumailah Hospital. A unique collaboration, between specialist multidisciplinary healthcare teams in geriatric medicine, internal medicine, medical intensive care units ( MICU) across Rumailah Hospital and Hamad General Hospital, has led to the co-creation of Qatar’s first Acute Weaning Unit.
The new therapeutic service aims to liberate patients from mechanical ventilation, enabling them to breathe normally and thereby gain more independence.
“Rumailah Hospital is Qatar’s longest running hospital and is exemplary in how it keeps developing and expanding its services to provide specialist care to patients. The Acute Weaning Unit marks a new achievement for Rumailah Hospital during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, complementing the numerous other specialist services established there over the past year. This unit has and will continue to enable patients who, after suffering from a health crisis such as strokes or infections, return to normal life. It is also a testimony to the strength of the clinical leadership teams across HMC who have never wavered in their efforts to help protect and care for their patients,” said Dr al-Kuwari.
Hanadi Khamis al-Hamad, national lead for Healthy Ageing in Qatar and medical director of Rumailah Hospital, said that a major goal of managing any patient who requires prolonged mechanical ventilation is to try and wean them off from the mechanical ventilator as soon as possible.
“Reducing the amount of time a patient spends on the ventilator can substantially improve their quality of life. However, the process of waning patients who have been on a ventilator for a prolonged period of time can be challenging both clinically and emotionally for the patients and their families. Our team of experts are trained to provide specialist clinical support to patients who require basic respiratory support and minimum hourly observation. As this is a step-down unit, (where patients are no longer deemed to be in a critical stage), families can also benefit from having closer interaction and more time with their loved ones,” said Dr al-Hamad.
Dr Nadir Kharma, senior consultant spearheaded the programme with support and guidance from the senior leadership team, including Hanadi al-Hamad and Dr Abdulaziz al-Darwish, acting CEO, Rumailah Hospital and Dr AbdulSalam Saif Ibrahim, senior consultant and division head of MICU, Hamad General Hospital.
“Once fully operational, the unit will have 13 beds, including three with dialysis capability, a dedicated therapy room and spaces for multidisciplinary staff meetings, pharmaceuticals and supplies. The close collaboration between physicians, nurses and allied health professionals is essential to providing the necessary holistic care to patients to help them on their journey of recovery. This unit is an ideal place for continuous monitoring of the patient’s condition during the initial phase of admission to the weaning unit and during active weaning trials,” said Dr Kharma.
“While mechanical ventilation is often essential to keep a person alive, the risk of infection is what drives physicians to wean patients off the ventilator as soon as possible. Not only can reducing the number of days of mechanical ventilation reduce the likelihood of ventilator-associated pneumonia but being able to breathe without a tube enables the patient to speak, become more functionally mobile and give them a sense of being more in control again,” said Dr Ibrahim.“This unit provides an excellent facility for patients who have been transferred from the intensive care units to help them in the next phase of their recovery process.”
“Rumailah Hospital is Qatar’s longest running hospital and is exemplary in how it keeps developing and expanding its services to provide specialist care to patients. The Acute Weaning Unit marks a new achievement for Rumailah Hospital during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, complementing the numerous other specialist services established there over the past year. This unit has and will continue to enable patients who, after suffering from a health crisis such as strokes or infections, return to normal life. It is also a testimony to the strength of the clinical leadership teams across HMC who have never wavered in their efforts to help protect and care for their patients,” said Dr al-Kuwari.
Hanadi Khamis al-Hamad, national lead for Healthy Ageing in Qatar and medical director of Rumailah Hospital, said that a major goal of managing any patient who requires prolonged mechanical ventilation is to try and wean them off from the mechanical ventilator as soon as possible.
“Reducing the amount of time a patient spends on the ventilator can substantially improve their quality of life. However, the process of waning patients who have been on a ventilator for a prolonged period of time can be challenging both clinically and emotionally for the patients and their families. Our team of experts are trained to provide specialist clinical support to patients who require basic respiratory support and minimum hourly observation. As this is a step-down unit, (where patients are no longer deemed to be in a critical stage), families can also benefit from having closer interaction and more time with their loved ones,” said Dr al-Hamad.
Dr Nadir Kharma, senior consultant spearheaded the programme with support and guidance from the senior leadership team, including Hanadi al-Hamad and Dr Abdulaziz al-Darwish, acting CEO, Rumailah Hospital and Dr AbdulSalam Saif Ibrahim, senior consultant and division head of MICU, Hamad General Hospital.
“Once fully operational, the unit will have 13 beds, including three with dialysis capability, a dedicated therapy room and spaces for multidisciplinary staff meetings, pharmaceuticals and supplies. The close collaboration between physicians, nurses and allied health professionals is essential to providing the necessary holistic care to patients to help them on their journey of recovery. This unit is an ideal place for continuous monitoring of the patient’s condition during the initial phase of admission to the weaning unit and during active weaning trials,” said Dr Kharma.
“While mechanical ventilation is often essential to keep a person alive, the risk of infection is what drives physicians to wean patients off the ventilator as soon as possible. Not only can reducing the number of days of mechanical ventilation reduce the likelihood of ventilator-associated pneumonia but being able to breathe without a tube enables the patient to speak, become more functionally mobile and give them a sense of being more in control again,” said Dr Ibrahim.“This unit provides an excellent facility for patients who have been transferred from the intensive care units to help them in the next phase of their recovery process.”