Qatar sees significant growth in urgent medical care with more options

Qatar’s healthcare sector has grown significantly in recent years providing more options for the patients with emergency and urgent medical care conditions than ever before, according to information provided by Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC).These services are delivered across the public healthcare system such as Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC), Sidra Medicine, Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) as well as other institutes.Other than the National Ambulance Service with a vast fleet, HMC offers seven emergency departments, five paediatric emergency centres, and the Urgent Consultation Service helpline to meet any emergency medical situation both for the citizens and the residents.PHCC operates 10 Urgent Care Units providing the service and five out of the 10 provide the service for both adults and paediatrics, within its primary health centres and the Urgent Consultation Service helpline.Sidra Medicine offers Paediatric Emergency Department (Public), Paediatric Urgent Care Centre (Private) and Women’s Obstetrics Triage and Urgent Care (Private). MoPH along with QRCS operates two Urgent Care Centres.HMC has launched a campaign ‘Where For Your Care?’ to bring together the key public health sector providers to work jointly to raise awareness of the services among the public and to use the emergency services judiciously. The campaign aims to improve the efficiency of the health sector by advocating correct use of available services and help patients receive the best possible medical care.With Qatar’s population has been growing steadily in the recent years and there are now about 3m people living in the country. It also throws a big challenge to meet the increased demand for all healthcare services, including emergency and urgent care. The expansion of capacity across primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare services has enabled to meet this increased demand and provide high-quality care to patients.With significant increase in the number of emergency and urgent care facilities in recent years, the campaign aims to remind the public to use various options other than the Ambulance Service in case of non-emergent and non-life threatening cases.It specifies that the Ambulance Service and Trauma & Emergency Centre provide life-saving care, should use a suitable urgent care facility. PHCC also has significantly expanded its urgent care provision in recent years with 10 units of 24-hour service.While choosing the right option for care enhances the treatment experience, it also helps to save the most critical care facility for others. HMC’s Emergency Departments have short wait times for patients with critical conditions.With the current campaign and the increase in the number of urgent care options, the healthcare sector is poised to provide the best care possible to the public.