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CATHERINE W GICHUKI
DOHA
Despite the illegal blockade that was imposed on Qatar by some neighbouring countries in June last year, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) is still treating patients from these countries in its state-of-the art hospitals.
Some of the cases are new but there are other patients who were undergoing treatment at HMC before the siege started.
Speaking to media persons, HMC Director of Operation Theatres, Senior Consultant and Chairman of Head and Neck Tumor Board Dr Moustafa Alkhalil, said,"We are attending to all cases, not only from Qatar but from other countries in the region. Recently, I operated on patients from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and UAE, even after the blockade."
He added that even after the siege, Qatar has not turned any of the patients.
"The patients are still coming and we are serving them. They are availing all our services and we keep receiving more cases," he said.
Alkhalil said that many of the patients from the region come through referrals while others research.
He, however, said that the numbers of the patients from the region has decreased compared with the time before the siege.
Talking about how international patients get referrals, Alkhalil, said,"Some of them hear about us through friends or families of patients we have treated and some of them are referred by doctors," he said.
He added that overall the number of patients has increased at HMC and one of the reasons is the population growth in Qatar.
"Another reason is reputation of our services. We have had many patients from around the region with cancer cases and other pathologies, deformities and aesthetic surgeries, but this number has reduced, though there are still patients coming. It is not only from the GCC region but there are many patients coming from Sudan, Egypt and different countries in other parts of the world," he said.

According to him, HMC has better facilities than those available in Europe, the US or Canada.
"We are proud of where we have reached and we will continue to do even better. This cannot be done without the support system of the country, the hospital management and the Ministry of Public Health," he said.
He added that Qatar's government fully supports the healthcare sector in the country.
He said that the demand for HMC hospitals is high and the expansion is continuous."The development that has taken place at HMC in 15 years, it will take over 50 years in other countries," he said.
He added that HMC has a lot of improvements and plans for the future."There are new buildings, facilities and state of the art theatres. People are coming from North America and Europe to see our theatres," he said.
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21/01/2018
1731