File photo used for representation only.
Sidra Medicine, a member of Qatar Foundation, in support with Qatar’s regional positioning, offers world-class medical care, not only to patients from Qatar but also from abroad.
Each year, patients from around the world travel to Sidra Medicine to receive medical care from its world-renowned team of doctors, said Chief Medical Officer and founder of the International Office at Sidra Medicine, Professor Ziyad M Hijazi.
Sidra Medicine’s mission is to provide children and women with outstanding preventive, primary, secondary, and tertiary care in an innovative and ultramodern facility specially designed to promote healing.
More than 90 international patients were treated at Sidra Medicine in 2021. Majority of them were treated for cardiology related conditions, Professor Hijazi told The Peninsula.
“We have had patients from the region as well as patients from Europe, the United States and Asia. Last year, 2021, a large percentage of international patients were from Kuwait. We have a strong partnership with the Kuwait Oil Company who have facilitated patients in Kuwait to get access to the best care here at Sidra Medicine,” he said. “With the advanced care that we offer, patients can opt to receive their treatment in Qatar at Sidra Medicine — instead of going to London or the United States.”
The multicultural and multilingual International Patient Services team helps patients, and their families navigate care and logistics with Sidra Medicine guiding them through the medical care experience, step by step.
“A liaison from the international office, who speaks the patient’s language, will coordinate all aspects of the visit to our hospital and clinics and will serve as a single point of contact before, during and after the visit,” said Professor Hijazi.
Sidra Medicine cares for patients across several specialties, such as cardiology, general paediatrics, urology, neurosciences, endocrinology, ENT, orthopaedic surgery, gastroenterology, plastic/craniofacial surgery and OB/GYN cases too.
“In line with our multidisciplinary approach to care, we apply the latest techniques and work in collaboration with other specialties and experts to offer hybrid procedures,” said Professor Hijazi.
“Cardiology has the highest number of international patients. Last year, our Heart Center received nearly 50 international patients,” he added.
The Heart Center features a comprehensive programme of services, including surgical and medical care for essentially all paediatric (including neonates) congenital cardiac and acquired heart diseases along with adult congenital heart disease.
“I am very happy to state that the outcomes from our Heart Center are comparable to any other western or North American mid or large size programmes.
Sidra Medicine is also one of the few children’s hospitals in the world with an airway stent service that is delivered through its Cardiac Intensive Care Unit,” said Professor Hijazi.
Baby Abdulla was born premature with a congenital heart defect. In 2021, his parents flew him to Qatar after being referred by a cardiologist in Kuwait for a life-altering cardiac procedure.
“We were amazed by the care we received from Sidra Medicine. The whole process right from the international patient services taking care of our entry to Qatar, despite the COVID-19 protocols, was seamless,” said parents of Abdulla.
“And once we arrived and entered, it truly felt like a hospital centred on caring for both the child and their parents. And we loved how the team interacted with our child and kept us informed every step of the way. They were fantastic. The fact that our son was able to come back to the hotel with us just one day after the procedure, was amazing. We felt so relieved to see how quickly he was recovering. It is wonderful that Qatar has a hospital like Sidra Medicine with such high international standards of care,” they said.
Patients can self-refer or can have their physician refer them to Sidra Medicine. More details can be found at their website.
