Doha: Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has encouraged the public to differentiate between emergency and non-urgent conditions while the seeking services.
In a social media campaign HMC has said, “Every day the emergency departments and ambulance service of HMC provide care to thousands of people with emergency medical conditions. But our emergency departments and ambulance service are only for most severe injuries and conditions.” “Primary Health Centers are the best option for people with non-urgent conditions,” it added.
It has clarified that for conditions such as flu-like symptoms, mild burns, toothache, skin irritation, earache, and backache public should seek treatment at health centres.
Emergency services should be required for conditions such as suspected stroke, severe allergic reaction, broken bones, difficulty in breathing, chest pain, severe burn or bleeding and seizures.
The campaign is part of educating the public on a set of new healthcare guides launched recently to help people choose the right services. Three specified manuals provide guidelines on what services to be sought by people according to the healthcare need of children, adult population and the elderly.
Qatar’s health sector has undergone enormous expansion in recent years and provides a full range of high-quality healthcare services to the people. Nine new public hospitals, six new health and wellness centres in primary healthcare and numerous private sector facilities have opened over the past ten years.
“Qatar’s health system has much to offer including a wide range of world-class treatment services to help people recover from ill-health and a growing range of wellness services to help them stay healthy and free from disease. But understanding how to access these services is the first step in realizing the benefits of these services,” said Dr Salih Al Marri, Assistant to the Minister of Public Health said earlier during the launch of the guidelines.
The guides clearly explain that the first point of entry into the health system and highlight the role of primary healthcare.
It shows how to get the secondary and emergency care at HMC. The specialised healthcare services provided to women, children and young adults in Qatar by Sidra Medicine are also detailed in the healthcare guides.
The guides in Arabic and English are being translated into several languages including Urdu, Tagalog, Nepali, Hindi and Malayalam to make the information easier to understand.
