The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has a plan to establish a comprehensive and modern high level center for the treatment of cancer patients, aiming at providing comprehensive and specialized care for both Qataris and expatriate patients, besides the patients from abroad who would like to receive cancer treatment in Qatar.
Local Arabic daily Arrayah reported that according to the recently announced Qatar's Cancer Plan 2023-2026, there is an ambitious plan to advance cancer patient care in the country, which includes the creation of this center. The plan stresses that due to important progress in cancer patients' care over the past decade, there is a need for a new center at a higher capacity than the current one, to enhance the commitment of the MoPH to ensure high quality medical services for all. The focusing of care in a new comprehensive cancer care center would enhance patients' confidence in cancer patient care services in the country, which would in turn positively impact patient care, health results, and healthcare expenditure across the country.
Accordingly, there is a strong belief at the present in the importance of establishing such a center to maintain excellence in cancer patient care, and accelerate cancer care progress for the people of Qatar. For this purpose, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has involved international architects in the design of the new center in close cooperation with HMC physicians in this process to adopt a model of an advanced building, which would take into consideration the anticipated future demands due to the possible population growth and accommodates the expected annual increase in the cancer cases diagnosed.
Further, the new center is set to benefit from the latest cancer treatment technologies, including proton radiation therapy for the best clinical results. It will also provide patients and their families with various means of comfort and convenience. Research activities will be integrated alongside world-class clinical care, ensuring that patients in Qatar would receive the highest international standard health care, surpassing even the care already available in the region.
Qatar's Cancer Plan 2023-2026 also highlights the need to build upon the remarkable progress achieved in cancer patient care over the past decade and to maintain momentum to ensure that everyone in Qatar receives world-class care. The plan emphasizes continuous focus on expanding service capacities and ensuring that screening services detect cases early and accurately.
MoPH launched Qatar's Cancer Plan 2023-2026 in June under the title "Excellence for All," covering seven branches that focus on the importance of investing in cancer services to save lives and provide long-term cost savings, including remote telemedicine for early cancer detection. The new plan is built upon improvements in cancer care services in Qatar over the past decade, paving the way for broader and high-quality services for all in the country. The plan was developed in collaboration with key stakeholders from various health care sectors, with support from experts from the World Health Organization.
