A National Cancer Strategy will be announced by April next year, to ensure the highest quality cancer care for people living here and making Qatar a destination for others to come for treatment.
To facilitate this, H E Abdullah Khaled Al Qahtani, Minister of Health and Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Health, launched a National Cancer Program, at the Supreme Council of health on Tuesday.
The strategy will be designed for early detection and effective treatment of Cancer, an important public health problem in Qatar.
“This will require a coordinated national programme which will outline not only our goals but also provide detailed practical steps on how we will get there,” said Al Qahtani.
“While we benefit from the experiences and success in other countries, this strategy needs to be tailored to the needs of Qatar,” he added.
Professor Lord Darzi, Chairman, Qatar National Cancer Stakeholder Committee, said that the strategy will be comprehensive and will cover all aspects – from raising awareness to support and care after treatment.
“The strategy will include education and awareness, prevention, early detection and screening, quality treatment, palliative care and patient and family support,” said Professor Darzi.
The National Cancer Strategy will also look at the requirements for an excellence service.
“There is a lot to celebrate in this country in the fight against cancer, but your aim is to become world class in fighting cancer,” said the professor.
To achieve this, the National Cancer Registry will be expanded and improved to create a single source of cancer data for Qatar. The strategy will also contain a Cancer Research Plan to strengthen Qatar’s ability to translate research into improved clinical care. To ensure the strategy can be put into place it will also include detail on the necessary investment and key implementation actions.
The Qatar National Cancer Society in its role will increase awareness through patient support groups for cancer survivors and heath professionals.
Through these health professionals, the Qatar National Cancer Society will be linking very closely with the ongoing work to transform cancer treatment within the Hamad Medical Cooperation (HMC), Primary Health Care centres and the private sector.
The Supreme Council of Health will be responsible and will have the ownership of the strategy. The General Secretariat will be reporting on progress in the development of the strategy to
H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser.
Events will also be held to understand the views of the people to ensure the strategy is appropriate for Qatar.
The National Cancer Steering Committee will be overseeing the development of the strategy, which will be published by April 2011. However, some supporting documents are expected to be published later.
Fazeena Saleem
THE PENINSULA