Doha, Qatar: As cancer care has improved across Qatar, the number of cancer survivors has increased, and the need to enhance services beyond those that are clinically provided in hospital settings.
Qatar Cancer Plan 2023-2026 ‘Excellence for All” seeks to establish a national ‘Holistic Support - Model of Care’ for cancer patients, survivors, and their families and communities.
“This novel programme has the potential, over time, to revolutionise how cancer is managed in the country,” according to Chapter 4 of the Qatar Cancer Plan 2023-2026.
The chapter on Holistic Support authored by the Lead of Quality of Life and Transitional Care at Hamad Medical Corporation’s National Center for Cancer Care and Research (NCCCR), Dr. Hisham Morsi, highlights that responding to individual needs in a holistic and patient-centred manner is extremely important for patients living with and beyond cancer.
The holistic approach considers the person’s physical, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being beyond the clinical problem.
The chapter on Holistic Support has emphasised that the integrated care models emphasise a patient-centred approach and services are provided in a consistent policy across a range of providers, not just one organization or provider; patients should have access to high-quality, comprehensive care as close to home as possible; shared protocols, guidelines, and care pathways ensure consistency of care; thorough screening for supportive care needs is critical to ensuring holistic care for cancer patients; and a healthcare system that strives to prevent the occurrence of cancer rather than reacting to it.
“As cancer services in Qatar have developed to their current world-class standard, there are more cancer survivors and an ever greater need to provide a comprehensive package of care for the people of Qatar,” says the chapter on Holistic Support.
Strategic objectives of the intended programme of holistic support include establishing a foundation of national infrastructure for the integration of holistic support across the entire cancer patient pathway; enriching available data and enhancing workforce capacity and capability with regards to holistic support; and Improving the individual, health, and community-related quality of life of cancer patients and survivors.
To achieve the objectives, some of the work plans include developing a national ‘Holistic Support - Model of Care’ for Qatar’s Cancer Patients and Survivors within the second half of 2023; establishing a comprehensive, holistic support capacity building and certification programme to empower nurses and frontline health workers by the first half of 2024; Design a national holistic community support programme by the end of 2024.
