The Emergency Department at the Women’s Wellness and Research Center (WWRC) has surpassed international benchmark by offering fast access and immediate care to patients needing emergency medical care.
According to Acting CEO and Medical Director Dr Hilal Al Rifai, the women’s emergency at the WWRC has been a unique concept that has revolutionised the care of pregnant and non-pregnant women in the country. It is one of the busiest emergency departments in Qatar and one of the busiest of its kind in the world, with more than 70,000 visits a year.
Speaking about the international benchmark achievement, Dr Al Rifai explained that part of the efforts to improve services in the face of the rapid increase in the country’s population was to triage (categorise) patients with priority 1 to 5 soon after arrival at the ER through a special triage system using the Canadian Triage Acuity Scale (CTAS), which is a valid system and verified internationally.
He said that the WWRC’s ER department has exceeded all CTAS benchmarks, ensuring all categories of patients are seen quickly. 100% of category 1 patients (those with the most critical conditions) are seen immediately, without delay, and 98% of category 2 patients are seen within 15 minutes.
Dr Al Rifai said they developed a triage clinic led by specialist physicians for category 5 patients or those with minor conditions not requiring emergency treatment and patients are counselled and advised to report to their registered primary health centre.
In March 2019, they started a Telephone Triage Clinic via a hotline to reduce unnecessary visits to the ER. The 24/7 telephone hotline – 4026 1091 – is a physician-led service designed to provide high quality advice to clients with different complaints and to relay laboratory and ultrasound results, thus saving patients unnecessary trips to the hospital.
Unique emergency services system
Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) operates a unique emergency services system, as one of the only countries in the world to have a separate, dedicated women’s emergency department. As the largest women’s tertiary hospital in the country, the WWRC is equipped with the best diagnostic tools and equipment as well as an expanded visitor waiting areas. The hospital features different specialties ranging from general internal medicine to integrated care for diabetes in pregnancy, urogynecology, breast care, hematology, obstetrics/gynecology, gyne-oncology, cardiac, mental health well-being, specialised newborn clinics, amongst other clinics.
The ER at WWRC is a unique purpose-built service tailored to the local needs of the women of Qatar. It was aimed at fulfilling the Qatar National Health Vision 2030, Qatar’s National Health Strategy’s Maternal and Newborn Health Project and the Emergency Care Project, in addition to meeting the World Health Organization’s Emergency Obstetrics Care (EmOC) charter.
The WWRC emergency services is available 24/7 for all women in real and urgent need of care.
Our scope of services includes dedicated emergency to women from preconception to childbirth, post-natal care, to their wellness and beyond the reproductive phase of life.
With specialised consultants and specialist doctors on site running the service around the clock, the ER provides safe, compassionate and high quality of care, staffed with 112 specialised nurses, working like the doctors in a shift system.
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