Dr. Maher Saqqour Pic: Baher Amin / The Peninsula
Doha: Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has introduced new services as part of its continuous efforts to provide rapid and efficient care for people with neurology-related problems.
The new services include urgent care facilities and sub specialities for neurology at the Hamad General Hospital (HGH), said Dr Maher Saqqour, Head of Neurology and Senior Consultant, Neurology Department, HGH, speaking to media yesterday.
“We have introduced a system named Urgent Neurology Spots to see patients who need quick appointments. Such patients will be seen when there is a free time slot in between appointments. The new system reduces the waiting time for patients,” said Dr Saqqour.
Urgent Neurology Spots were introduced at HGH’s Neurology Department a month ago and around 15 to 20 patients are seen in a week. They commonly present with acute neurological problems but in a stable condition.
“All patients are assessed and triaged then sent to relevant clinics. There are three stages in problems related to neurology such as acute, sub-acute and chronic condition. Acute cases will be assessed and sent either to the Rapid Assessment Stroke Unit or other clinics. The sub-acute cases are seen at the Urgent Neurology Spots,” said Dr Saqqour.
Building upon the success of the Urgent Neurology Spots, HGH will open an Urgent Neurology Clinic in the coming months. “This clinic will see urgent cases related to all types of neurology problems such as vertigo, headaches, stroke symptoms and epilepsy,” said Dr Saqqour.
The Neurology Department has introduced several sub-specialty clinics for stroke, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and headaches.
The multiple sclerosis clinic currently delivers advanced care to more than 700 patients.
With two weekly clinics, it provides highly-specialised care to patients with different forms of the long-lasting, auto-immune disease which affects the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves in the eyes. A Stroke Prevention Clinic and Rapid Assessment Stroke Unit has been started at the Hamad General Hospital since July this year.
These services were introduced under the Stroke Programme. The Stroke Prevention Clinic sees people at high risk of getting a stroke. The Stroke Prevention Clinic sees an average of 15 to 20 persons on a daily basis. At the RASU, patients who present with minor strokes and warning symptoms are treated to prevent a major stroke. Six to eight patients are treated daily at RASU.
