The Women’s Hospital, under the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) recorded 9,135 deliveries in the first half of this year while its outpatient department received 70,450 visits during the period, according to a senior official.
The number of deliveries last year stood at about 15,000 while the outpatient visits amounted to 102,710. The emergency section at the hospital received 29,102 cases so far this year against a total of 47,741 cases last year.
Dr Halima Al Tamimi, Chairperson, Gynaecology and Obstetrics Department at Women’s Hospital said in an interview with Al Sharq that the new women’s hospital, currently under construction, would be handed over to the HMC next year.
The new facility was scheduled to open in 2013. The Al Wakra hospital that is scheduled to open in April next year will have a separate section for women.
This, coupled with the new women’s hospital are expected to reduce the pressure on the existing facility, said Al Tamimi.
She said the Women’s Hospital had set up special committees to look into complaints from the public. The committee will investigate into individual cases and those found guilty will be punished.
The official, however, said recent surveys conducted by the hospital had shown that about 90 percent of the respondents were satisfied with its services.
The hospital with 248 beds has been under tremendous pressure due to the increase in the number of patients and deliveries over the past few years. The hospital currently has 248 adult beds and 71 beds in Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
The hospital recently introduced the Day Care Unit mainly for women under antenatal (prenatal) care who have to stay for a few hours for their condition to be monitored.
These include pregnant women with diabetes, high blood pressure or with a foetus with retarded growth.
The hospital also added a special section with 12 beds currently offering five-star service to the patients. There is a plan to expand this facility with more beds. “Some patients stay at the facility for up to five days, instead of 24 hours,” lamented the official.
The Peninsula