FROM LEFT: Dr Mansour Ali,Chief of Surgery, Dr Aisha Ahmad AA Yousuf, Director, Consultant and Director in Minimally Invasive and Robotic Gynecology Surgery, Peter Morris,CEO, Sidra Medicine, Prof Christof Von Kalle, Chief Research Officer and Prof Ibrahim Janahi, Chair of Medical Education during a press conference held at Sidra Medicine yesterday. Pic: Abdul Basit / The Peninsula

By Fazeena Saleem | The Peninsula

DOHA: Sidra Medicine, a speciality health care organisation for children, young people and women and a member of Qatar Foundation, has achieved major accomplishments ahead of its grand opening on November 12.

The hospital welcomed its first inpatients on January 14 this year and has received around 120,000 people seeking different services during the last ten months.

Sidra Medicine was envisioned by H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser to address the growing need for specialist children’s and maternity care by offering services previously unavailable in Qatar, and across the region.

“That vision was to transform women’s and children’s healthcare in Qatar, the region and internationally, providing the best care available anywhere in the world right here in Doha. Sidra Medicine aims to become a beacon of learning, discovery and exceptional care, ranked among the top academic medical centres in the world. We are now entering a brand new phase in our journey, with Sidra Medicine representing the hospital of the future,” said Peter Morris, CEO, Sidra Medicine, addressing a press conference yesterday.

He also said each month on average the hospital receives around 600 inpatients, 3,000 paediatric emergencies, conducts about 250 surgeries and 200 deliveries.

Sidra Medicine is now operating over 50 clinics, offering care across a range of specialities including epilepsy, congenital heart failure and surgery, among many others. It also deals with many complicated cases in paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology. Since conducting the first inpatient surgeries in January, followed by the launch of robotic-enabled surgery in July, Sidra Medicine has performed over 2,700 surgeries and another 3,000 procedures to date.

“By centralising provision for complex paediatric care at the hospital, Sidra Medicine is helping create a complete healing environment for children who would have previously had to travel abroad for care,” said Dr Mansour Ali, Cheif of Surgery.

Sidra Medicine has launched several key women’s services. This includes the opening of Women’s Emergency and the start of highly complex gynaecology surgeries using minimally invasive keyhole procedures. The hospital has also partially activated its robotic gynaecology surgery service, performed by Da Vinci Robot machines, which allow doctors to have better visualization with 3D cameras and surgical ergonomics.

“We provide obstetrics and gynecology services. The obstetrics department deals with pregnant women and gynecology department with disorders. At the gynecology clinic we deal complex problems and conduct minimal invasive and robotic surgeries,” said Dr Aisha Ahmad AA Yousuf, Consultant and Director in Minimally Invasive and Robotic Gynecology Surgery.

On the patient education front, Sidra Medicine launched Qatar’s first in-house developed bi-lingual maternity mobile application, ‘10 Moons’. The app helps expectant mothers track their pregnancy journey and provides step by step guidance and information related to their care at Sidra Medicine. To date, 1,200 women have downloaded the app.

Most recently, Sidra Medicine opened the Reproductive Medicine outpatient consultation service. A fully purpose-built clinic including IVF services is set to open in the spring of 2019.

“Research is a key pillar of Sidra Medicine and we are undertaking a number of exciting projects which will benefit those living in Qatar, the wider region and beyond. Our research will enable us to not only understand the genetic makeup of people in Qatar, but also study diseases to help develop highly personalized medicine,” said Prof. Christof Von Kalle, Chief Research Officer.

Share this post





Read also

Read More UN discusses Doha Declaration’s theme on Education for Justice 08 Nov 2018 - 9:44 The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has held an event at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on “Education for Justice”, within the framework of follow-up to the achievements of the World Programme for the Doha Declaration of the Thirteenth Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, 2015.

Read More ILO hails Qatar’s achievements on workers’ rights 08 Nov 2018 - 9:25 The International Labour Organisation (ILO) Board of Directors has praised the important legislative achievements and reforms adopted by the State of Qatar in its ongoing efforts to promote and protect the rights of expatriate workers.