Tribune News Network
Doha
Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) on Monday announced the implementation of the modernisation and development programme of Al Wakra Hospital. This comes as part of the ongoing expansion to enhance patient experience, reduce waiting times and length of stay, and improve access to specialised medical services for residents of the southern region.
Medical Director of Al Wakra Hospital Dr Sabah Alkadhi said that as part of the ongoing expansion across HMC, a number of new services and facilities will be implemented at the community hospital in the coming years.
He said planned service upgrades and facility expansions are part of a larger strategy designed to enhance patient experience and reduce waiting times and lengths of stay.
He said Al Wakra Hospital is continuing to expand its services. The future plans include the commissioning of a new CT scan, the establishment of a Center of Excellence for Stone Treatment, and the expansion of a number of existing services, including rehabilitation, dermatology, arthritis and rheumatology.
He said there are also plans to establish a Blood Donation Center in Al Wakra so that those wishing to donate blood can do it without having to travel to Doha.
During the last two years, Al Wakra Hospital has seen over 15 percent increase in patient volume with a total of 699,496 patient visits in 2018, compared to 605,924 in 2016.
With over 280,000 outpatient and more than 355,000 Emergency Department visits in 2018, Al Wakra Hospital is the country’s second busiest hospital, behind only Hamad General Hospital.
Last year more than 8,970 patients, including paediatric patients, benefited from inpatient surgical services at Al Wakra Hospital, including obstetric, gynecologic, and burns surgeries. Nearly 17,500 patients utilised day care services, including over 6,200 patients undergoing day surgery.
In 2018, 1,257 patients underwent dialysis and 9,945 received intravenous therapy. During the same year, over 5,600 babies were born at the hospital.
Opened in 2012, and serving a local population of approximately 500,000 people, Al Wakra Hospital was established to meet the increasing demand for health services in the rapidly growing communities of Al Wakra, Mesaieed, and the South Doha Airport area.
"Al Wakra Hospital has 326 inpatient beds, 204 of which are for general and acute patients and 87 of which are reserved for critical care, high dependency, and burns patients. We have an additional 77 beds for observation and day care patients. Approximately 30 percent of our beds are in single occupancy rooms,” said Dr Alkadhi.
Dr Alkadhi noted that the number of staff working at the hospital has increased by over 9 percent during the last three years, with a 40 percent increase in staff hired to support clinical services since 2016.
He noted that nursing and midwifery staff increased by 15 percent and allied healthcare staff by 6 percent during the same period.
"The increase in our workforce has helped reduce waiting times in outpatient clinics. Waiting times for outpatient services were reduced by 27 percent during the first quarter of 2019 compared to the same period in 2017. These reduced wait times represent appointment bookings in 19 medical specialties, including bariatrics, burns surgeries, cardiology, dermatology, diabetes, endocrinology, otolaryngology, gastroenterology, general surgery, medicine, nephrology, ophthalmology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthopaedics, paediatrics, pain management clinic, pulmonology, joints and rheumatoid, and urology,” said Dr Alkadhi.
Dr Alkadhi noted that as part of HMC’s response to managing the healthcare requirements of Qatar’s growing population, a number of key clinical services have been relocated to Al Wakra Hospital in recent years, including the country’s National Burns Unit.
The modern, purpose-built facility, which was relocated from Rumailah Hospital in 2014, uses the latest equipment and techniques to treat both severely burned patients and those with minor burn-related injuries.
Dr Alkadhi said other recent additions include a robotic surgery service for general surgery and urology, Qatar’s only dedicated Hernia Surgery Center, the country’s first of its kind specialized dental clinic for individuals with special needs, and countrywide collaborative dermatology, dentistry, diabetes, neurology, mental health, and cardiology services. "While demand for our services has grown, we’ve been able to help meet the needs of our patients through the introduction of management systems and tools, such as our Surgical Tracking Office which coordinates all elective surgeries and the CareAware Bed Management System; Al Wakra Hospital was selected as the first HMC hospital to implement this system which automates how bed availability is tracked. The CareAware system has helped reduce wait times for inpatient beds and improved patient access to specialized care,” added Dr Alkadhi.
Doha
Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) on Monday announced the implementation of the modernisation and development programme of Al Wakra Hospital. This comes as part of the ongoing expansion to enhance patient experience, reduce waiting times and length of stay, and improve access to specialised medical services for residents of the southern region.
Medical Director of Al Wakra Hospital Dr Sabah Alkadhi said that as part of the ongoing expansion across HMC, a number of new services and facilities will be implemented at the community hospital in the coming years.
He said planned service upgrades and facility expansions are part of a larger strategy designed to enhance patient experience and reduce waiting times and lengths of stay.
He said Al Wakra Hospital is continuing to expand its services. The future plans include the commissioning of a new CT scan, the establishment of a Center of Excellence for Stone Treatment, and the expansion of a number of existing services, including rehabilitation, dermatology, arthritis and rheumatology.
He said there are also plans to establish a Blood Donation Center in Al Wakra so that those wishing to donate blood can do it without having to travel to Doha.
During the last two years, Al Wakra Hospital has seen over 15 percent increase in patient volume with a total of 699,496 patient visits in 2018, compared to 605,924 in 2016.
With over 280,000 outpatient and more than 355,000 Emergency Department visits in 2018, Al Wakra Hospital is the country’s second busiest hospital, behind only Hamad General Hospital.
Last year more than 8,970 patients, including paediatric patients, benefited from inpatient surgical services at Al Wakra Hospital, including obstetric, gynecologic, and burns surgeries. Nearly 17,500 patients utilised day care services, including over 6,200 patients undergoing day surgery.
In 2018, 1,257 patients underwent dialysis and 9,945 received intravenous therapy. During the same year, over 5,600 babies were born at the hospital.
Opened in 2012, and serving a local population of approximately 500,000 people, Al Wakra Hospital was established to meet the increasing demand for health services in the rapidly growing communities of Al Wakra, Mesaieed, and the South Doha Airport area.
"Al Wakra Hospital has 326 inpatient beds, 204 of which are for general and acute patients and 87 of which are reserved for critical care, high dependency, and burns patients. We have an additional 77 beds for observation and day care patients. Approximately 30 percent of our beds are in single occupancy rooms,” said Dr Alkadhi.
Dr Alkadhi noted that the number of staff working at the hospital has increased by over 9 percent during the last three years, with a 40 percent increase in staff hired to support clinical services since 2016.
He noted that nursing and midwifery staff increased by 15 percent and allied healthcare staff by 6 percent during the same period.
"The increase in our workforce has helped reduce waiting times in outpatient clinics. Waiting times for outpatient services were reduced by 27 percent during the first quarter of 2019 compared to the same period in 2017. These reduced wait times represent appointment bookings in 19 medical specialties, including bariatrics, burns surgeries, cardiology, dermatology, diabetes, endocrinology, otolaryngology, gastroenterology, general surgery, medicine, nephrology, ophthalmology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthopaedics, paediatrics, pain management clinic, pulmonology, joints and rheumatoid, and urology,” said Dr Alkadhi.
Dr Alkadhi noted that as part of HMC’s response to managing the healthcare requirements of Qatar’s growing population, a number of key clinical services have been relocated to Al Wakra Hospital in recent years, including the country’s National Burns Unit.
The modern, purpose-built facility, which was relocated from Rumailah Hospital in 2014, uses the latest equipment and techniques to treat both severely burned patients and those with minor burn-related injuries.
Dr Alkadhi said other recent additions include a robotic surgery service for general surgery and urology, Qatar’s only dedicated Hernia Surgery Center, the country’s first of its kind specialized dental clinic for individuals with special needs, and countrywide collaborative dermatology, dentistry, diabetes, neurology, mental health, and cardiology services. "While demand for our services has grown, we’ve been able to help meet the needs of our patients through the introduction of management systems and tools, such as our Surgical Tracking Office which coordinates all elective surgeries and the CareAware Bed Management System; Al Wakra Hospital was selected as the first HMC hospital to implement this system which automates how bed availability is tracked. The CareAware system has helped reduce wait times for inpatient beds and improved patient access to specialized care,” added Dr Alkadhi.