DOHA: Four years after its launch, National Health Strategy 2011-2016 (NHS) has completed 61 percent of its projects, a 17 percent increase from 2014. It has completed six projects and remaining 35 are being implemented.
NHS implementation and achievements in the healthcare sector were reviewed at its fourth annual forum yesterday in the presence of Minister of Public Health H E Abdullah bin Khalid Al Qahtani.
Highlighting on this year’s theme ‘Together on Integrated Care’ Al Qahtani said healthcare services should improve in relation to access, quality, user satisfaction and efficiency. The integrated service will aim to provide a high-quality and seamless experience to every patient.
Once fully implemented, the service will provide a patient-oriented care, information about patients will be shared among healthcare providers and patients will have a choice between public and private healthcare providers. It will comply with Goal 2 of NHS.
“We have tools, we have a plan and we are sticking to it. Every year, I have told you it will be hard, and will get harder, but that is proof that we are making progress. So now we must take advantage of every opportunity to make things easier; integration, communication, technology are the keys,” said Al Qahtani.
To meet the challenge of increasing population, the workforce in the healthcare sector was increased by 16 percent in 2014 — over 30,000 professionals. Public sector healthcare spending in 2013-14 was QR12,699m, up 28 percent from the previous year.
As part of NHS, National Diabetes Strategy will be implemented soon and Mental Health Strategy launched in 2013 is being implemented.
“The National Diabetes Strategy, our weapon in combating perhaps the biggest threat to health in the country, is nearly complete,” said Al Qahtani. “Almost all PHCC doctors have now been trained to support mental health, and new health centres are opening each year. The Qatar Council for Healthcare Practitioners is working tirelessly to improve the quality of clinicians in the country, the Qatar National Formulary is ready to launch and will help clinicians make life-improving decisions. We have published the infrastructure master plan, an essential component in delivering an effective, and above all, sustainable health system,” he added.
The annual forum also hosted a panel discussion on ‘The Opportunities and Challenges of Integrated Care’ moderated by Professor Ibrahim Ahmed Janahi, Executive Director of Research at HMC.
The NHS launched in 2011, has set six wide goals as a comprehensive world-class healthcare system, an integrated system of healthcare offering high-quality services, Preventive healthcare, a skilled national workforce , a national health policy that sets and monitors standards and high-calibre research. NHS is a partnership of SCH, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and Primary Healthcare Corporation (PHCC).
The Peninsula
