Following three weeks since the opening of its main hospital, Sidra Medicine, a specialty children’s, young people and women’s healthcare organization and member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, has announced the next stage in its phased opening with expanded referral options and new services available to patients from 4 February 2018.
From 4 February 2018, the Women’s Clinic at Sidra Medicine has begun accepting referrals from Al-Rayyan Health Center and Gharrafat Al Rayyan Health Center, in addition to ongoing referrals from Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) Centers.
Also from 4 February 2018 onward, the Sidra Medicine main hospital in addition to doing elective cesarean deliveries, has begun scheduling births by planned induction of labor. Deliveries by induction of labor will be scheduled by referral only. Women who go into spontaneous labor will need to go to HMC for deliveries. This also applies for patients currently registered and receiving their antenatal care at Sidra Medicine.
Under children’s and young people’s services, additional low-risk orthopedics and all general surgery services have also become available from 4 February 2018. From 11 February 2018, pediatric neurology and rheumatology clinics, as well as complex general pediatric care, will open at Sidra Medicine.
The latest inpatient children’s services will be added to the list of existing services currently available by referral and appointment only. This includes pulmonology, gastroenterology, endocrinology and non-invasive cardiology services, as well as low-risk general surgery, urology, plastic and ear, nose and throat surgical procedures.
Commenting on the first few weeks of operation at the main hospital, Sidra Medicine Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Ferguson said, “The weeks since we opened our main hospital building have been marked with many heartwarming developments, from welcoming our first babies to treating our first inpatients. Most importantly, however, the intense preparation and systems testing we conducted ahead of opening has ensured efficiency and safety with no adverse patient outcomes. As a hospital focusing on some of the most complex medical specialties, patient safety is of utmost importance to the entire team at Sidra Medicine. The continuous staff training and state-of-the-art monitoring processes we have set in place will help us continue to deliver safe, family-centric care.”
Since opening its doors on 14 January and as of 31 January, Sidra Medicine’s main hospital has performed 79 pediatric procedures and 13 C-sections, admitted 33 pediatric patients and welcomed 14 babies. The birth of the babies was marked with much delight, starting with the arrival of the first baby girl on 14 January, and then the first baby boy on 15 January, followed by several more births including twins in the three weeks since opening.
The current schedule of inpatient services will be ramped up through mid-2018 to include more complex pediatric surgeries, specialist pediatric services in cardiology and others, as well as deliveries, focusing on high-risk pregnancies.
“We are looking forward to expanding our services to the children, young people and women of Qatar in line with a patient-safe and phased approach to opening. This allows for extensive testing at every step of the way to identify any areas that can be enhanced and adjust processes in pursuit of continuous improvement,” added Sidra Medicine’s CMO Dr. Ferguson.
Patients coming to Sidra Medicine are currently being seen by referral and by appointment only. The Emergency Department (ED) at Sidra Medicine will open in mid-2018. Emergency cases should continue to be seen at established ED centers throughout Qatar.