DOHA: Dr. Mohammed G A Al Maadheed (pictured) shared his expert knowledge of establishing world-class healthcare facilities, in a presentation to fellow healthcare professionals at the latest instalment of Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar’s (WCM-Q) Grand Rounds.
Dr. Al Maadheed has held many key leadership roles in the development of Qatar’s rapidly growing healthcare sector in the past two decades.
Among the achievements, Dr. Al Maadheed was instrumental in realising the vision to establish a state-of-the-art, purpose-built orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital in Qatar in his role as the director-general of Aspetar from 2003 to 2012, which attained international recognition when it was accredited as a FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence in 2009.
He explained the most effective strategies for setting up and managing healthcare facilities to achieve excellence in patient care and health outcomes. In his presentation, entitled ‘Healthcare facilities: From a vision to recognition of excellence’, Dr. Al Maadheed said, “How do we plan these long-term projects? Well, unfortunately, there is no manual that you can simply follow step-by-step because in every case your environment and circumstances will be different.
“The approach I have developed is to divide my project into three phases: A project phase, a commissioning phase and an operational phase. Now, the key point is that the structure of the organisation changes to meet the challenges of each successive phase, so the delivery vehicle adapts as the project develops.
“You must have this flexibility because otherwise, when the project moves forwards, you will be left with an organisation that is set up to meet the previous set of challenges, which no longer exist,” said Dr. Al Maadheed who was also the director-general and project director of Anti-Doping Lab Qatar, which was inaugurated in December 2012 and received World Anti-Doping Association accreditation in 2015. He continues to provide stewardship as the Chairman of its Board of Trustees. Since 2010, he has been Director-General and Project Director of a new ‘greenfield’ medical facility for addiction treatment and rehabilitation in Qatar.
“Excellence in all projects is vital, but in healthcare it is more important because there is such a strong moral dimension. In healthcare, as with humanitarian work, you must be absolutely dedicated to achieving 100 percent efficiency and effectiveness, because any less than this carries a risk that someone will be harmed. You must see excellence as a moral value and as a personal mission,” he said.
The Peninsula
