Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) won the Elite Hospital Award as part of the Arab Hospitals Federation Gold Initiative, aimed at showcasing the efforts of healthcare providers across the region during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The award recognised HMC’s successful response across five categories:
- Regulatory Staff to the Government
- Leadership and Governance
- Safety of Staff, Visitors and Patients
- Awareness
- Research and Development
Receiving the Elite Hospital Award is a wonderful endorsement of HMC’s contribution to Qatar’s overall COVID-19 strategy, according to Ali Al Janahi, Chief of the HMC Tertiary Hospitals Group.
He said that the Arab Hospitals Federation Gold Initiative is an important project that aims to showcase the efforts of healthcare providers in meeting the unprecedented challenge presented by COVID-19. In Qatar, HMC has worked alongside healthcare partners, including the Ministry of Public Health and the Primary Health Care Corporation, and played a central role in the nation’s measures to protect its population and ensure every patient with COVID-19 can receive fast and effective care.
Our comprehensive strategy to confront COVID-19 has succeeded in suppressing the spread of the virus and enabled Qatar to have one of the lowest COVID-19 mortality rates in the world.
The Elite Hospital Award recognised the effectiveness of HMC’s role in the delivery of the healthcare sector’s widespread measures to protect Qatar’s population from COVID-19 and ensure every patient requiring medical treatment was able to do so without delay. HMC, as the main provider of specialist healthcare services in Qatar, played the leading role in caring for COVID-19 patients with moderate to severe symptoms.
To meet the increased demand as a result of the virus, HMC significantly expanded capacity across its hospital network. The re-purposing of existing resources and facilities resulted in delivering over 2,900 new hospital beds, including 700 new intensive care beds.
Five facilities, including two newly-opened hospitals in Mesaieed and Ras Laffan, were designated as dedicated COVID-19 treatment facilities as part of a strategy that allowed HMC to ensure that the right care was available at the right time and place.
The award also recognised the measures put in place by HMC to ensure the safe continuation of services to patients with non-COVID-19 conditions. This included the launch of virtual and telemedicine services for a range of areas, including outpatient consultations, urgent care and mental health.
The Gold Initiative’s Awareness category praised HMC’s efforts in communicating effectively with Qatar’s population throughout the pandemic to ensure they were kept updated on the latest developments and knew how to keep themselves safe.
HMC Chief Communications Officer Ali Abdulla Al Khater said that right from the onset of the pandemic, they utilised television, radio, social media, and newspapers to keep the public informed about what was happening with COVID-19, how health services were adapting and changing, and how individuals could keep themselves safe.
They delivered messaging in multiple languages, including Arabic, English, Hindi, Urdu, Malayalam, Tagalog, Nepali, Bengali, and French – ensuring that, along with healthcare partners, they were able to reach as wide an audience as possible, and that every citizen and resident have access to the information they need.
Check out Marhaba’s FREE e-Guides to learn more about the healthcare sector and the various other industries in Qatar.