The new National Health Strategy unveiled on Saturday takes a holistic approach in providing healthcare facilities to the residents of Qatar. The National Health Strategy (NHS) 2018-2022, which was launched by the Ministry of Public Health, aims to meet the needs of current and future generations.
The new strategy is crucial for the country as it provides a road-map that will transform the health system to a more comprehensive and integrated.
The unveiling on new strategy comes after the success of first health strategy. The first national health strategy was six years long and helped make tremendous progress in improving the quality of care provided to patients.
The strategy has led to significant changes in the level of primary care, where it is now possible to provide a better level of care to families in locations close to their homes and all aspects of health care have seen significant improvements over the past six years.
The healthcare system in Qatar have made remarkable achievements in recent years, helped by the successful implementation of the first health strategy. Qatar for instance was ranked 13th in the world and the first in the Middle East in healthcare according to the 2017 Prosperity Index.
Ministry of Public Health has achieved 80 percent of the objectives of the first strategy, which was focused on establishing the infrastructure of the healthcare system in Qatar.
The NHS 2018-2022 offers a unique model for health care in Qatar that focuses more on disease prevention and helps the community to maintain their health.
The national strategy will focus on seven population groups, each with its own needs, including children, people with special needs and the elderly. It identifies 19 key performance indicators that help to focus and measure progress at the local level and compare it to global levels, such as improving the effectiveness of emergency services by verifying that 85 per cent of those coming to the emergency department are screened, treated and discharged within 4 hours.
There is also the management of chronic diseases such as diabetes which will be improved by reducing hospital admissions by 15 percent and by improving specialised services at the primary health care level. Efforts will also be strengthened to support the improvement of healthy lifestyles in society and reduce unhealthy behaviors such as smoking which the ministry will look to cut by 30 percent in the next five years.
The implementation of NHS 2018-2022 will go a long way in ensuring a world class healthcare services to residents of Qatar.
