Al Maha Children’s Unit is situated at the Rumailah Hospital.
Doha: Al Maha Children’s Unit at the Rumailah Hospital of Hamad General Hospital launched its third facility yesterday.
Al Maha Children’s Unit 3 is a 12-bed long-term facility providing care for children with complex long-term medical conditions, said Mariam Nooh Al Mutawa, Executive Director of Nursing, Rumailah Hospital.
Many being cared at Al Maha Children’s Unit have their breathing supported by a mechanical ventilator. The length of stay for each child patient varies from months to years depending on the patient’s diagnosis, ranging from hereditary disorders (genetic disorders), neuro-muscular disorders to respiratory disorders.
“At Rumailah Hospital, we opened children’s long-term care units back in 2010. Al Maha Children’s Unit 1 & 2 provide care for 50 children aged from three months to 14 years of age,” Al Mutawa told The Peninsula.
Children at the units are seen by multidisciplinary experts including a paediatrician, pharmacist, nutritionist, respiratory therapist, physiotherapist, nurse and occupational therapist, paediatric pulmonology consultants and specialists.
“Al Maha Children’s Unit -1 is providing comprehensive long-term medical care and rehabilitation services for children supported by a mechanical ventilator. The unit is being managed by highly trained and qualified multidisciplinary team focusing on providing treatment and rehabilitation for these children, involving their families,” said Lilykutty Joseph, Head Nurse at Al Maha Children’s Unit -1.
Mariam Nooh Al Mutawa, Executive Director of Nursing at Rumailah Hospital.
A mother’s support group was launched in 2018 enabling the parents of children with long-term medical conditions to take a more active role in their child’s care. The initiative has provided a platform for the mothers of patients at the Al Maha Children’s Unit 1 to have direct access to their children’s care teams and to receive support from other parents.
“We have two children at Al Maha Children’s Unit who go to school from the hospital,” said Nagwa Ahmed, Acting Director of Nursing, Paediatric Services at Rumailah Hospital.
“We organise different activities for the children and we take them to parks with all the medical, nursing and support services. The ambulance services support to transport children for activities,” she added.
The mother’s support group is the latest initiative by staff at the facility aimed at improving both patient care and experience.
In 2016, the staff at Al Maha Children’s Unit 1 implemented a successful programme designed to help long-term ventilated children live at home.
That programme has seen a number of children who had been hospitalised, in some cases for many years, safely transitioned back into the community and visiting home frequently.
