Dr John Ferguson, Chief Medical Officer, Sidra (third left) and Peter Morris (second left), CEO, with heads and team of the newly opened pulmonary, cardiology and gastroenterology paediatric clinics.
Doha: Sidra Medical and Research Center (Sidra) will host 35 clinics and services providing specialised care for children and pregnant women with chronic conditions, once it’s Outpatient Clinic is fully operational in January next year, said a senior official.
Around 5,000 patients are expected to be seen at the outpatient clinic per week by January, Dr John Ferguson, Chief Medical Officer, Sidra told The Peninsula yesterday. Since its opening on May 30 this year, the Sidra Outpatient Clinic has opened more than 20 clinics and services at its Department of Pediatric Medicine and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
At present the Outpatient Clinic is accepting referral-based patients from Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and Primary Health Care Corporation.
On Sunday three pediatric clinics were opened to provide specialised care in pulmonary, cardiology and gastroenterology. These clinics are expected to see a big number of patients due to the high prevalence of health conditions related to lung, respiratory and heart problems among children.
“We have transition clinics where specialised treatment is given for chronic conditions. This week we started three clinics specialized in pulmonary, cardiology and gastroenterology. And they are very big volume clinics,” said Dr Ferguson.
The paediatric pulmonology clinic will provide clinical consultation, evaluation, diagnoses and treatment for referral patients who have pulmonary (lung) conditions and respiratory issues related to their breathing.
Dr Ibrahim Janahi is the Division Chief of Pulmonology. The paediatric cardiology clinic is led by Dr Ralf Holzer. The clinic will treat patients with known or suspected cardiac diseases and also follow up on older patients with known congenital heart diseases. The clinic will also provide consultation for patients with a family history of genetic cardiac disorders.
Dr Mamoun Elawad and his team will provide assessment, investigations and treatment for patients with suspected gastrointestinal conditions, hepatological and nutritional problems at the pediatric gastroenterology clinic.
“We are running clinics five days a week and the number of patients continues to grow,” said Dr Ferguson. Referring to the paediatric clinics, he said, “We are very conscious over everything including their comfort. When it comes to a paediatric hospital it’s not just about the child but it’s the comfort of the whole family that we need to cater.” The Sidra outpatient clinic also provides anaesthesiology, post-anaesthesia care unit (PACU) services, diagnostic imaging for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), physical and occupational therapies, speech and language pathology and audiology.
The day surgery clinic which opened recently has conducted around ten minor surgeries and procedures for paediatric patients. However, the clinic will conduct between 20 and 30 procedures by January 2017.
