Sidra Medicine, a specialty women’s and children’s hospital, today shared a series of milestones celebrating major achievements ahead of its grand opening ceremony next week. The new hospital was envisioned by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser to address the growing need for specialist children’s and maternity care by offering services previously unavailable in Qatar, and in many cases across the wider MENA region.

“Our mission is to create a beacon of outstanding care for women and children among the finest in the world. We have assembled world-class teams of healthcare staff from Qatar and internationally to provide the best that medicine has to offer, while our research is laying the path towards new treatments and personalized care. We have superb, committed staff who have done fantastic work in opening this stunning hospital campus. I thank and applaud all of our staff and each of our partner organizations in Qatar as we celebrate their achievement,” said Sidra Medicine CEO Peter Morris.

Pediatric Services

Sidra Medicine is now operating over 50 clinics, offering care across a range of specialties including epilepsy, congenital heart failure and surgery, among many others.

Since conducting the first inpatient surgeries in January, followed by the launch of robotic-enabled surgery in July, Sidra Medicine has performed over 2,700 surgeries to date. A recent highlight included the Pediatric Short Bowel Multidisciplinary service, which offers care for patients with Short Bowel Syndrome (SBS). By centralizing provision for complex pediatric care at the hospital, Sidra Medicine is helping create a complete healing environment for children who would have previously had to travel abroad for care.

“It is very encouraging as we welcome more families in Qatar who are opting to stay back and seek our counsel and care for handling some highly complex and challenging cases,” said Dr. Mansour Ali, Chair of the Department of Pediatric Surgery.

Women’s Services

This year has seen Sidra Medicine launch several key women’s services. This includes the opening of Women’s Emergency and the start of highly complex gynecology surgeries using minimally invasive keyhole procedures. The hospital has also partially activated its robotic gynecology surgery service, performed by Da Vinci Robot machines, which allow doctors to have better visualization with 3D cameras and surgical ergonomics.

On the patient education front, Sidra Medicine launched Qatar’s first in-house developed bi-lingual maternity mobile application, 10 Moons. The app helps expectant mothers track their pregnancy journey and provides step by step guidance and information related to their care at Sidra Medicine. To date, 1,200 women have downloaded the app.

Most recently, Sidra Medicine opened the Reproductive Medicine outpatient consultation service. A fully purpose-built clinic including IVF services is set to open in the spring of 2019.

Dr. Aisha Ahmad AA Yousuf, Director of Reproductive Surgery, said: “As a Qatari female physician, I am very happy to work in a hospital like Sidra Medicine. This is an exciting time for many advancements in healthcare and I am proud to be a part this journey.”

Research

“Research is a key pillar of Sidra Medicine and we are undertaking a number of exciting projects which will benefit those living in Qatar, the wider region and beyond. Our research will enable us to not only understand the genetic makeup of people in Qatar, but also study diseases to help develop highly personalized medicine,” said Sidra Medicine’s Chief Research Officer Prof. Christof Von Kalle.

Sidra Medicine is involved in several landmark research projects in Qatar and on an international scale, with research teams looking at several diseases prevalent in Qatar. For example, Sidra Medicine is working with all children with diabetes in Qatar to understand the root causes of the disease. This research will be completed by the end of next year, helping give an accurate picture of pediatric diabetes in Qatar and support the development of highly personalized medicine.

In addition to diabetes, Sidra Medicine researchers are investigating Cystic Fibrosis and Autism Spectrum Disorders on the genetic level, looking for variations which may one day lead to improved disease management. Cystic Fibrosis research is looking into a specific gene mutation only found in the Qatari population. The BARAKA study is looking into phenotyping of Autism Spectrum Disorders to build a unique resource and translate this research into better diagnostics and personalized treatment for patients.

Medical Education As a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, Sidra Medicine is working towards building national capacity through training and medical education. It has recently launched the first Specialized Pediatric Robotics Surgery Training Program and has become the main training provider for pediatrics residents in Doha.

The institution’s robust medical symposia program, which helps medical professionals attain continuous education credits, is also expanding. As a result, Sidra Medicine will host several significant symposia later this year. These include the fourth annual Functional Genomics Symposium from 8-10 December 2018 titled “Big Data to Clinic” and the Clinical Updates in Obstetrics and Gynecology (CUOG) 2018 event from 14-15 December.

“As an advocate for continuous learning, I am very excited about how we are developing and mentoring a new generation of specialist doctors in Qatar,” said Chair of Medical Education, Prof. Ibrahim Janahi.

All images courtesy of Sidra Medicine

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