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CATHERINE W GICHUKI
doha
AL Ahli Hospital has come out much stronger from the unjust and illegal blockade imposed on Qatar by some of its neighbouring countries on June 5, 2017, Al Ahli Hospital’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer Jamal Hammad has said.
Speaking to Qatar Tribune, Hammad said the group managed to open a new branch in Al Wakrah, expanded capacity (facilities, systems and resources), introduced new services, and found new places to get its supplies from, during the siege period.
He said: “We have bounced back with the support of the government during the ongoing siege. It was a learning experience for us as it taught us how to depend on ourselves and how to look out for other alternatives at times of such crises. We are now capable of coping with any such crisis in the future. It’s all because of the government’s support.”
Hammad pointed out that before the siege began, the hospital was largely dependent on supplies of medications as well as medical systems and supplies from the neighbouring countries. “When the blockade started, medications and other medical supplies and services were stopped suddenly despite the contract between us. The disruption of supply included some very fast-moving items whose consumption is very high and the situation became very difficult to handle. We were left with hardly an option, but to urgently look for alternatives.”
He added: “Thankfully, we have a very good Supply-chain Department, which among its contingency measures, has an alternative supply chain with different countries, which is opened only during such crises. The management agrees on this exigency plan in the beginning of every year. The blockade and the current coronavirus pandemic are examples of such crises. So, we immediately reverted to our alternative sources after the blockade.”
Hammad said that the drop in supply did not last even 14 days and things got back to normal with the alternative supply chain soon.
He said that they started sourcing different medications and supplies from countries such as Turkey, China, Jordan, UK, France, besides others. “We are so grateful to the government and authorities for the support extended to the private sector in stabilising the cost of such items. Initially, there was kind of a spike in the cost, but that was dealt with immediately by the relevant government authorities. This helped us recover from the shock quickly and within a month’s time everything was normal.”
According to him, 50 percent of their medications came from neighbouring countries, mostly from Egypt. “So, it was a great achievement to recover within a month of the disruption of 50 percent of our supply chain. It certainly wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the government.”
Hammad added that the blockade did not deter them from implementing any of their plans. “We proceeded as planned to open the Al Wakrah branch of our hospital. All our preparations and recruitment regarding the new branch went on schedule despite the blockade and we managed to open the facility to the public in the first quarter of 2019.”
He added that since the blockade began, Al-Ahli Hospital has expanded in terms of capacity and specialties. “We added neurosurgery and cosmetic surgery. We have also introduced the fastest MRI and CT imaging system in Qatar. It does cardiac imaging in less than a second. It can give a picture of the blocked artery of the heart within a second without the patient having to stop his/her breathing. All of this was done during the years of blockade.”
Other services offered by the hospital include: Obstetrics and Gynecology, General Surgery, Cardiovascular Surgery, Orthopaedics, Physiotherapy, ENT, Urology, Nephrology, Psychiatric Diseases, Nutrition, Diabetes Treatment, Endocrine Diseases, Internal Medicine, Ophthalmology, and
Dermatology.
doha
AL Ahli Hospital has come out much stronger from the unjust and illegal blockade imposed on Qatar by some of its neighbouring countries on June 5, 2017, Al Ahli Hospital’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer Jamal Hammad has said.
Speaking to Qatar Tribune, Hammad said the group managed to open a new branch in Al Wakrah, expanded capacity (facilities, systems and resources), introduced new services, and found new places to get its supplies from, during the siege period.
He said: “We have bounced back with the support of the government during the ongoing siege. It was a learning experience for us as it taught us how to depend on ourselves and how to look out for other alternatives at times of such crises. We are now capable of coping with any such crisis in the future. It’s all because of the government’s support.”
Hammad pointed out that before the siege began, the hospital was largely dependent on supplies of medications as well as medical systems and supplies from the neighbouring countries. “When the blockade started, medications and other medical supplies and services were stopped suddenly despite the contract between us. The disruption of supply included some very fast-moving items whose consumption is very high and the situation became very difficult to handle. We were left with hardly an option, but to urgently look for alternatives.”
He added: “Thankfully, we have a very good Supply-chain Department, which among its contingency measures, has an alternative supply chain with different countries, which is opened only during such crises. The management agrees on this exigency plan in the beginning of every year. The blockade and the current coronavirus pandemic are examples of such crises. So, we immediately reverted to our alternative sources after the blockade.”
Hammad said that the drop in supply did not last even 14 days and things got back to normal with the alternative supply chain soon.
He said that they started sourcing different medications and supplies from countries such as Turkey, China, Jordan, UK, France, besides others. “We are so grateful to the government and authorities for the support extended to the private sector in stabilising the cost of such items. Initially, there was kind of a spike in the cost, but that was dealt with immediately by the relevant government authorities. This helped us recover from the shock quickly and within a month’s time everything was normal.”
According to him, 50 percent of their medications came from neighbouring countries, mostly from Egypt. “So, it was a great achievement to recover within a month of the disruption of 50 percent of our supply chain. It certainly wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the government.”
Hammad added that the blockade did not deter them from implementing any of their plans. “We proceeded as planned to open the Al Wakrah branch of our hospital. All our preparations and recruitment regarding the new branch went on schedule despite the blockade and we managed to open the facility to the public in the first quarter of 2019.”
He added that since the blockade began, Al-Ahli Hospital has expanded in terms of capacity and specialties. “We added neurosurgery and cosmetic surgery. We have also introduced the fastest MRI and CT imaging system in Qatar. It does cardiac imaging in less than a second. It can give a picture of the blocked artery of the heart within a second without the patient having to stop his/her breathing. All of this was done during the years of blockade.”
Other services offered by the hospital include: Obstetrics and Gynecology, General Surgery, Cardiovascular Surgery, Orthopaedics, Physiotherapy, ENT, Urology, Nephrology, Psychiatric Diseases, Nutrition, Diabetes Treatment, Endocrine Diseases, Internal Medicine, Ophthalmology, and
Dermatology.
