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CATHERINE W GICHUKI
DOHA
Six new hospitals will open by end of next year, Minister of Public Health HE Dr Hanan al Kuwari said on Wednesday.
She was speaking at the closing session of the two-day World Innovation Summit for Health (2016) attended by Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) Chairperson HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser.
Kuwari said Qatar's healthcare system is undergoing major expansion with focus on offering quality service."We are going to open three hospitals at the end of this year and three more next year," Kuwari said.
The Primary Health Care Corporation has recently opened three wellness centers, while the HMC opened the Communicable Disease Center.
Kuwari said Qatar is investing heavily on the development of human capacity through formal education in medical schools.
"Several training programmes and workshops are being organised that focus on quality and safety. We also have cross-sector initiatives that focus on improving quality and safety," she said.
Kuwari added that the staff were being offered world-class training programmes."The residency programme is accredited by ACGME and is equivalent to programme offered to the graduates in the US and Europe. Our nursing education is accredited by the American Nursing Association," she said.
In the next phase of expansion, the focus will be on quality and safety and all healthcare providers will be engaged in the process."We want to shift our focus from sickness to wellness," Kuwari said, adding that to be able to deliver quality and culture, partnerships across organisations are very important.
"I would like to see people healthy so that there would be no need to go to hospital. I would like to see a population that is fit, that does not have diabetes or cardiovascular diseases. Therefore prevention is very important. I would like us as a country to be much more active when it comes to prevention," Dr Kuwari said.
Giving a advice to young practitioners, the minister urged them not be afraid of learning.
"Learn from the best practice, forums, colleagues and patients. Don't forget what inspired you. The field can be difficult; its long hours can be stressful but remember what inspired you," she said.
President Emeritus and Senior Fellow at Institute for Healthcare Improvement Dr Don Berwick, Hamad Medical Corporation resident Dr Turki al Ahbabi and Qatar University Pharmacy student Amani al Haddad were also present at the session.
Both Ahbabi and Haddad represented the future homegrown workforce that took part in patient-safety academy initiative in March.
"The workshop gave us an idea on how to improve, in terms of our service, communication with our patients and how to deliver the best care to our patients," said Ahbabi.
On the sidelines of the summit, the Minister of Public Health met a number of foreign dignitaries including Bangladeshi State Minister for Health and Family Welfare Zahid Malik, Moldovan Minister of Health Ruxanda Glavan, Tanzanian Minister of Health Ummy Ally Mwalim, Kyrgyzstan's Minister of Health Care Talantbek Batyraliev and UK Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Health Lord David Prior. The meetings discussed promoting cooperation in the health arena.
