QNA
Doha
The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has announced a new policy to regulate the practice of home nursing services, by introducing the job title of home nurse and launching its registration and licensing standards within the nursing categories organized by the Healthcare Professions Department at the Ministry.
This comes within the framework of the Ministry of Public Health’s efforts to regulate the work of health practitioners in Qatar, and in accordance with the policies and regulations applicable in many other countries, nursing regulatory institutions, including the American Nurses Association (ANA).
The policy of regulating the practice of home nursing allows nursing staff who are sponsored by the patient or his family, those who do not work for any of the licensed health facilities, to apply for registration and licensing through the Ministry of Public Health, provided that all conditions and requirements that ensure the nurse’s competence and integrity are met.
The conditions include verifying the validity of certificates and documents submitted, work experience, academic qualifications, and passing the Ministry’s licensing examination for nursing staff.
DrSaad Al Kaabi, Director of the Department of Healthcare Professions at the Ministry of Public Health, said: “Regulating the practice of home nursing contributes to enhancing integrated health care in the State of Qatar by providing an effective and safe health service”.
He added, “The policy of regulating the practice of home nursing services also allows the option of staying at home while continuing to receive the healthcare the patient needs. This is especially important for the elderly to getpsychological support to recover and maintain a healthy lifestyle”.
He explained that one of the conditions for granting a license to practice the profession under the job title of home nurse is that the applicant must have an intermediate certificate in nursing, such as Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN), or diploma of technical secondary nursing schools or any other nationally recognized study program dedicated to this purpose.
The same license can also be granted to nursing cadres who have a bachelor’s degree in nursing if they wish to do so, while demonstrating commitment to the scope of practice, the field of work.
He pointed out that a licence to practice the profession will be issued to cadres of this category who are not associated with a health facility, with the name of the patient, as the work of nursing staff of this category is limited to the patient and his family.
The nurse will also be allowed to complete Continuing Professional Development (CPD)credits, provided that 80 credits are a required for license renewal by attending professional development activities that will allow him/her to reach the required points.
Continuing Professional Development credits are included within the mechanism for regulating and approving medical education/CPD activities launched by the Ministry of Public Health to ensure the efficiency and quality of these activities according to international accreditation standards, which insures access to the necessary knowledge for practitioners who are licensed to work in the health field in Qatar, each in his field of specialization, this leads to the development of evidence-based scientific medical practice.
The policy clarifies the scope of the home nurse’s practice; the nurse’s follow-up to the instructions of the treating physicians of the patient, following the treatment plan set by them, and comply with all laws, policies and directives issued by the competent authority at the Ministry of Public Health.
It is noteworthy that the health sector in Qatar has recently witnessed an increase in the demand for home nursing services, as a result of the increase in the average age of the country’s population, in addition to focus on wellness indicators in the Qatari society and introduce new concepts such as the concept of long-term care and home care.
The health sector in Qatar provides many important homecare services for the elderly, including that Hamad Medical Corporation carries out home visits for the elderly to conduct the necessary clinical examinations and tests and review patient care plans, through multi-disciplinary care teams, including doctors, nurses, and patient care assistants.
About 2,000 elderly patients benefit from home visits within Qatar, with the primary aim of enhancing and improving the quality of life for elderly patients by helping them to improve mobility and live independently as possible.
