.jpg)
By Fazeena Saleem
DOHA: Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC)’s maternity services in Al Wakra, Dukhan and Al Khor hospitals have reduced the burden on Women’s Hospital, said a senior official.
The growth and expansion of maternity services to regional hospitals has provided expectant mothers with greater options for their care, Dr Yousuf Al Maslamani, Medical Director at Hamad General Hospital told The Peninsula.
With around 90 percent of secondary and acute services in Qatar, the increasing population over the years has meant that hospitals care for a growing number of patients each year.
The strategy to provide expectant mothers with more choices to receive care has led to 25 percent of all babies born across the HMC network being delivered at regional hospitals. In 2014, one-quarter of all babies born across the HMC network were delivered at hospitals other than Women’s Hospital, a figure that has continued to increase in recent years.
“The only hospital to see a reduction in patient numbers and activity is Women’s Hospital. This is as a result of the growth of the maternity services in HMC’s General Hospitals in Al Wakra, Dukhan and Al Khor. By focusing on expanding maternity services at these hospitals outside Doha, HMC has given patients greater choice as to where to access their care and at the same time reduce pressure on the busy Women’s Hospital,” said Dr Al Maslamani.
In recent years, HMC has placed particular emphasis on expanding its care services, and in particular maternity services, outside Doha through its three general hospitals in Dukhan, Al Wakra and Al Khor.
Prior to the opening of Al Khor Hospital in 2006, Women’s Hospital was HMC’s sole provider of maternity services. Yet with the Cuban and Al Wakra hospitals opening in 2012, there are now far greater options available for parents to decide where to deliver their babies. Expectant mothers have benefitted from this greater choice, with many choosing to deliver their babies at one of HMC’s general hospitals.
Women’s Hospital deliveries decreased from 18,000 in 2013 to 16,000 in 2014 due to an increase in deliveries at HMC’s regional hospitals.
Al Wakra Hospital, with 3,673 births, recorded a 77 percent increase on 2013, 1,197 babies were born at Al Khor Hospital in 2014, a seven percent increase on the previous year and births at The Cuban Hospital increased by 88 percent over the same period, with 256 births throughout 2014.The Peninsula
