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Tribune News Network
Doha
In a move to provide better healthcare services, the Sidra Medical and Research Center (Sidra) on Tuesday launched its paediatric day surgery clinic.
"The launch of paediatric day surgeries marks an important milestone in Sidra's roll-out of paediatric and women's services at the Sidra Outpatient Clinic (OPC), which will become fully operational in January 2017," Chief Medical Officer Dr John Ferguson said.
He added that children can now be admitted to the Sidra Outpatient Clinic for minor surgeries or procedures and they can be discharged the same day.
"The launch of every new service at the Sidra OPC is an opportunity for our expert staff to offer the best possible care to our patients and their families, supported by a rigorous focus on patient safety and a culture of continuous learning," he noted
Paediatric day surgery will include general surgical procedures such as inguinal hernia repairs, orchidopexy, umbilical and epigastric hernia repairs, soft tissue biopsies and hydrocelectomy (surgery for removing fluid in the scrotum).
Services will quickly expand to include ear, nose and throat (ENT) procedures, urologic procedures, minor plastics surgery procedures and simple orthopaedic procedures and ophthalmology procedures.
Sidra will accept paediatric day surgery referrals from Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) and Qatar Foundation Primary Healthcare Center. Sidra also has a Pre-anaesthesia Clinic where a paediatric patient's medical history is assessed, and the advice of the surgeon and the anaesthesiologist help determine the cases that qualify for day surgeries.
Dr David Sigalet, Medical Director of the Outpatient Center and Department Chair of Surgery, said:"The opening certainly helps to advance Sidra's mission to provide world-class healthcare. Day surgery is a vital component of any healthcare service. It allows sometimes acute conditions to be treated efficiently and effectively. It is very gratifying that paediatric patients can now be treated for more minor conditions which may not be life-threatening but which, nevertheless, can significantly impact a child's life."
In addition to paediatric day surgeries, Sidra has continued to roll out more specialist healthcare services. Over the past few months several new paediatric clinics have opened including infectious diseases, adolescent medicine, nephrology, ophthalmology, anaesthesiology, and a pre-anaesthesia care unit (PACU).
Sidra also launched its Neurology Clinic on October 30, which will progressively provide complete diagnostic and therapeutic services for all children with neurological disorders.
"This is an exciting time for Sidra and for the women and children of Qatar who require access to specialised services and physicians. We are moving forward at great pace, while ensuring the quality and safety of the services we provide," Dr Ferguson said.
Prior to the launch of each new service at Sidra, the inter-professional teams of doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals involved in patient care go through rigorous training. This includes simulation training designed to analyse and perfect the patient journey and create highly functioning teams.
The Sidra Outpatient Clinic is expected to be fully operational by January 2017 with over 40 clinics and services.
