Doha: The transformation of Qatar’s cancer care services in recent years has been made to meet the increasing number of patients.
The number of patients with different type of cancer in the country has increased by 200 percent since 2004 and it required for expansion of services, according to Medical Director of National Center for Cancer Care and Research (NCCCR), Dr. Mohamed Salem Al Hassan.
He said NCCCR is focused on delivering high quality and safe patient care and at the same time adopting cutting edge technology and the latest methodologies of providing world-class cancer therapies.
“Because of the improvement in services the number of cancer patients seeking care abroad has reduced. Due to early detection, advanced care and other facilities for cancer patients, the survival rate has increased over years,” Dr. Al Hassan told The Peninsula.
He also said that the Department of Radiation Oncology provides state-of-the-art cancer radiation treatment for a wide variety of tumour types and it receives patients from neighbouring countries as well.
Dr. Al Hassan said that NCCCR ensures in line with Qatar National Cancer Strategy that a patient is seen by a specialist physician within 48 hours of the first referral. NCCCR, the premier cancer hospital in Qatar, is part of Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and looks after cancer patients who require ongoing treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. NCCCR also treats blood conditions and home for the Center for Bone Marrow Transplants.
“With the increasing number of patients, we had to find a way to provide them with improved services. We also found that several cancer patients were waiting at other hospitals of HMC or at home, to be cared at the NCCCR. That is why we recently expanded our facilities,” said Dr. Al Hassan.
The Day Care Unit at NCCCR has expanded, from 16 to 52 beds, while the number of beds at the Urgent Care Unit has been increased from six to 10. Also, the expansion saw establishment of 37 outpatient clinics outside NCCCR to see cancer survivors and patients with haematology problems, besides adding 10 new beds for Medical Oncology.
“We expanded the inpatient bed capacity by taking 10 beds from the Rumeilah Hospital, which adjoins NCCCR. Also 50 beds of the Patient Recovery Center in Hamad Medical City is allocated for cancer patients. We utilise the Rumeilah Hospital for sick patients and recovery centre for stable patients. So now we are able to discharge a stable patient and send them to the Patient Recovery Center for few weeks,” said Dr. Al Hassan.
“By doing this we make more beds available at NCCCR for very sick patients,” he added.
According to Dr. Al Hassan, the capacity of the Day Care Unit at NCCCR has increased almost by more than double and it has reduced the waiting time for patients. Around 80 patients receive chemotherapy, a blood transfusion and other services at the Day Care Unit. It also has two standby beds for patients who may need to stay overnight.
NCCCR sees around 200 patients daily at its clinics and 37 Outpatient Clinics have been established outside NCCCR in the Ambulatory Care Center, Al Wakra Hospital, Al Khor Hospital, and the Women’s Wellness and Research Center. These clinics see cancer survivors.
“We will be seeing patients who need acute care and chemotherapy services at NCCCR. All survivors and haematology related conditions will be seen at outside clinics. It reduces the pressure at clinics at the NCCCR and also gives a moral boost to cancer biennial people. When they go to a hospital outside NCCCR, people can feel that they are not cancer patients anymore,” said Dr. Al Hassan.
At present, the Urgent Care Unit has ten beds and also a dedicated ultrasound scanner to treat patients who need immediate care. “We have increased the number of beds and doctors at the Urgent Care Unit so patients can receive quick care,” said Dr. Al Hassan.
