Sidra Medicine Welcomes First Inpatients to New Hospital Building in Doha

Sidra Medicine, a specialty children's, young people and women's healthcare organization and member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), today opened its new hospital building and welcomed the first inpatients to be treated in the state-of-the-art facility.

     (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/628561/Sidra_Medicine_Hospital.jpg )

The first inpatients to be seen by Sidra Medicine will be children requiring low-risk surgeries and women undergoing elective C-sections. These services will be ramped up through mid-2018 to include more complex pediatric surgeries, specialist pediatric services in neurology and cardiology, among others, as well as deliveries, focusing on high-risk pregnancies.

"The clinical teams at Sidra Medicine are some of the best in the world. They have been united by a passion to deliver the very best care to women, young people and children in Qatar and will be trusted partners throughout the journeys that our patients will take with us. As a state-of-the-art facility handling high-risk and specialty cases, our approach to opening is necessarily phased to allow for proper testing at each stage. The safety and comfort of our patients is of utmost importance and we look forward to welcoming them," said Sidra Medicine CEO Peter Morris.

Patients are encouraged to continue seeing their regular physicians unless they have a scheduled appointment at Sidra Medicine. No Emergency Department (ED) is currently open at Sidra Medicine and emergency cases should continue to be seen at established ED centers throughout Qatar. Sidra Medicine will open its ED in mid-2018.

"The opening of the main hospital at Sidra Medicine marks the achievement of another major milestone in the expansion of healthcare facilities in the country. The new hospital will further enhance the healthcare provided for women and children and reinforce our commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of the people in Qatar," said Minister of Public Health H.E. Dr. Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari.

Speaking on the opening of the main hospital, Vice Chair of the Board of Governors at Sidra Medicine, Professor the Lord Darzi of Denham, said: "As part of Qatar Foundation, Sidra Medicine is a true embodiment of the country's wider, long-term efforts to build a world-class healthcare and research infrastructure in Qatar, and Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser's specific focus on transforming the care of women and children. Qatar Foundation, with Her Highness Sheikha Moza at the helm, has been a powerful force for progress. It has established Qatar as a leader in education, science and community development. We are incredibly proud to bring Her Highness's vision to life. Sidra Medicine is a first of its kind facility in the Middle East and will become a resource for the entire Gulf region in terms of specialty care for women and children supported by an impressive research infrastructure that will help lead the way in personalized medicine. I have no doubt that Sidra Medicine will become an international beacon of best practice and high-quality, academically-driven patient care."

An innovative facility designed to promote healing 

Once fully operational by mid-2018, Sidra Medicine will handle 275,000 outpatient appointments, 11,000 procedures, 100,000 emergency attendances and deliver over 9,000 babies per year, adding capacity to a rapidly growing population and delivering world-class specialist care. The hospital will include 10 operating theatres, 400 beds, 100 percent single rooms with a private bathroom, a birthing center and emergency department.

High-tech, high-touch 

As a high-tech facility, Sidra Medicine has adopted breakthrough technologies to enhance the patient experience and underpin the highest standards of care and patient safety.

Examples of the high-tech devices at Sidra Medicine include palm vein recognition technology - a biometric technology that identifies patients by capturing their vein pattern and which connects with patients' individual medical records automatically, and a 3D printer which provides models of a patient's organs such as the heart or the brain to help with treatment planning. The technology at Sidra Medicine has been developed to ensure patient data, patient experience and patient care are all maintained at the highest standards, while enabling healthcare professionals to spend more time with patients.

World-class care supported by cutting-edge research  

Medical care at Sidra Medicine is supported by research aimed at advancing the understanding of the epidemiology and mechanisms of diseases for the people of Qatar. This will help develop personalized preventative, diagnostic and therapeutic tools and improve the health outcomes of the women, young people and children of Qatar.

In line with QF's mission to make Qatar a leading center for research and development excellence and innovation, the research programs currently underway at Sidra Medicine are on par with other leading research institutions internationally. They range from delivering key milestones with the Qatar Genome Project, to patenting ways to monitor the spread of cancer using MRI technology, and reviewing the use of immunotherapy to treat breast cancer.

Regional and international referrals 

Sidra Medicine will also accept regional and international referrals for women, young people and children who need its specialist expertise. An international referrals office has already handled 117 cases from Bahrain, Egypt, Ghana, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Nigeria, Oman, Panama, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and the UAE since Sidra Medicine opened its Outpatient Clinic in May 2016.

The most highly sought-after services have been cardiology and urology, including procedures for treating structural and congenital heart diseases, valve replacements and bladder exstrophy.

Sidra Medicine CEO Peter Morris concluded Sunday's press conference by emphasizing: "Sidra Medicine not only stands for medicine today, but medicine tomorrow, which is why our tripartite focus on patient care, biomedical research and medical education is so important. Researchers at Sidra Medicine are looking for ways to personalize care for every child, young person and mother who walks through our doors by focusing on specific aspects of their condition and personal circumstances. At the same time, our world-class healthcare professionals are sharing and spreading their knowledge and expertise to support the development of the next generation of healthcare professionals in Qatar who will care for the patients of the future."