Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) on Monday announced the implementation of the modernization and development program of Al Wakra Hospital as part of the ongoing expansion across Hamad Medical Corporation of the hospital in order to enhance patient experience, reduce waiting times and length of stay and improve access to specialized medical services for residents of the southern region.
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.
During the last two years, Al Wakra Hospital has seen over a 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 countrys second busiest hospital, behind only Hamad General Hospital. Last year more than 8,970 patients, including pediatric patients, benefited from inpatient surgical services at Al Wakra Hospital, including obstetric, gynecologic, and burns surgeries. Nearly 17,500 patients utilized 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.
The increase in the 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, orthopedics, pediatrics, pain management clinic, pulmonology, joints and rheumatoid, and urology.
Medical Director of Al Wakra Hospital, Dr Sabah Alkadhi said in a statement on Monday that "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,".
He added that all these components are part of Hamad Medical Corporation's comprehensive expansion program, which aims to enhance patients' experiences and contribute to accelerating the process of obtaining specialized and high-quality services provided by the hospital.
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.
He pointed out that one of the most important developments in the hospital during the past years, the operation of the countrys National Burns Unit for adults and children, and the development of facilities equipped with the latest technology and medical equipment to provide critical care and acute and daily burn patients, including a suite for the treatment of burns and the provision of plastic surgery and restoration.
Dr Alkadhi said other recent additions include a robotic surgery service for general surgery and urology, Qatar's only dedicated Hernia Surgery Center, the countrys 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, weve 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.
Dr Alkadhi added that Al Wakra Hospital is continuing to expand services and noted that 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 so right in the community, without having to travel to Doha.
Source: QNA
Image Credit: KEO
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