Tribune News Network
Doha
Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Department of Geriatrics and Long-Term Care, which has been appointed as a WHO Collaborating Centre for Healthy Ageing and Dementia in Qatar, has partnered with Primary Health Care Corporation to establish the first Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) Clinic in Al Wajba Health Centre.
The ICOPE healthcare approach helps broader health and social care systems respond more effectively to the diverse and complex needs of older people. The WHO ICOPE Guidelines provide recommendations for healthcare workers on how to best assess older people’s health and effectively address their needs, ideally in community-based healthcare settings that are easy to access. The aim is to promote healthy ageing practices and prevent, slow, or reverse declines in the physical and mental capacities of older people.
Dr. Samya Ahmad Al Abdulla, senior consultant of family medicine & executive director of operations at Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) shared her excitement at opening the first ICOPE clinic in a primary care setting: “This clinic will have a significant impact on the long-term care outcomes of our older population. The clinic has special, highly skilled & trained healthcare staff who are dedicated to the integrated care of older people at the community level.”
Dr. Hanadi Al-Hamad, National Health Strategy lead for healthy ageing in Qatar, chairperson of the Department of Geriatrics and Long-Term Care at HMC, and medical director at Rumailah Hospital and Qatar Rehabilitation Institute, explained the key elements of the ICOPE clinic: “The clinic is set up with reception desk and assessment and treatment rooms that focus on diagnosing and managing the numerous physiological changes that often occur with increasing age. As people age, the decline in their health can manifest as visual impairment, hearing loss, cognitive decline, malnutrition, mobility loss, depressive symptoms, urinary incontinence, and balance issues that may lead to falls. We aim to identify any such impairments, or the risk of them developing or progressing, as soon as possible.”
Dr. Abdulla Al-Ansari, chief medical officer at HMC explained that this approach will deliver care that is more patient-centred and efficient: “ICOPE reflects a transformation in healthcare, where the delivery of care incorporates the whole period that the patient needs treatment. This approach will help to reorient health and social services towards a more person-centred and coordinated model of care. That is better for the patient, their family, and the healthcare system on which they depend.”
Dr. Meshal Abdulla AlMesaifri, manager of Al Wajba Health Centre, said: “I am delighted with the support we had from HMC’s multidisciplinary clinicians, including physicians, case managers, nurses, and therapists, to help us set up this clinic, which is based on the WHO model and best-practice screening tools to assess the physical, emotional and cognitive needs of our older patients. We will be sharing the experience and know-how from this clinic with colleagues to assist in opening more such clinics.”nHMC, PHCC join hands in Collaborating Centre for Healthy Ageing and Dementia initiatives led by HMC’s Department of Geriatrics and Long-Term Care
