By Fazeena Saleem
DOHA: Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) will expand its services for the health and care of old people, including introducing new outpatient clinics, according to a senior official.
The Department of Geriatrics will open two new outpatient clinics this year and train physicians and other staff to improve their skills in providing services to patients, Dr Hanadi Al Hamad, Acting Chair of Elderly Geriatrics, HMC, told this newspaper.
Many geriatric patients suffer from medical problems, including decline in memory and new problems such as confusion, falls, incontinence, weight loss or depression.
The department treats such patients who need long-term care, address their physical, emotional and social needs and focus on giving them a high quality of life and functional ability.
“Presently we have eight outpatient clinics and we are looking forward to opening clinics this year to treat patients with osteoporosis and Parkinson’s disease,” said Dr Al Hamad.
The department will also bring international experts next month to train physicians on how to more efficiently identify and treat patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Dementia is caused by loss of certain brain cells during certain diseases and Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia.
The department provides services at Hamad General Hospital (HGH), Rumailah Hospital and the Enaya Specialised Care Centre.
“Most of our patients with complex medical problems are admitted to Rumailah Hospital’s long-term care wards and adult ventilator units,” said Dr Al Hamad.
“We see more than 150 patients in our outpatient unit in Rumailah Hospital. At HGH, we have an acute geriatrics unit for elderly patients suffering from functional decline or an acute illness or injury that has provoked a decrease in their functional abilities,” she added.
The Enaya Specialised Care Centre opened in 2015 at Hamad Medical City has 158 beds of which some 148 are occupied as the number of patients varies, said Dr Al Hamad.
Majority of patients at the Enaya centre are elderly, however some are young people with acute problems following traffic accidents.
“After a patient is admitted to hospital for acute care and is stabilised, they will be stable but would need more care or rehabilitation. Such patients are transferred to the Enaya centre,” said Dr Al Hamad.
With individualised treatment programmes for each patient, the dedicated team of specialised professionals provides medical care and looks to enhance patients’ ability to function independently.
The department covers HMC’s Home Health Care Services which enables visits to more than 1,000 patients at their homes.
The Peninsula
