Universal healthcare cover plan
Originally published in Gulf Times on December 21, 2010
Qatar is aiming to have universal healthcare coverage for the whole country by 2012, HE the Minister of Public Health Abdullah bin Khalid al-Qahtani told Gulf Times yesterday.
“This is mandatory. We have a new strategy of business as of last June and, according to that, universal healthcare will be made accessible across the country in two years’ time,” al-Qahtani said after touring the soon-to-be opened Al Wakrah Hospital.
“This will be done at the primary care level; not through secondary or tertiary business,” he added.
Universal healthcare essentially means bringing all sorts of medical services closer to the patients. On national health insurance, the minister said the details had to be worked out.
“Work should be done to identify which package (of insurance) should be charged, which should be subsidised from the government … and how we can have full payment between the patient and the provider. So it remains to be seen,” al-Qahtani said.
According to him, Al Wakrah Hospital, one of the largest hospital complexes in Qatar and occupying 304,000sq m of land, will open in the summer of 2011.
“Another hospital in Dukhan is set to open hopefully in April 2011. Dukhan (Hospital) is already finished with medical staff arriving and Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) providing them orientation,” he said.
The Dukhan Hospital will have a soft opening in April with 79-beds followed by full inauguration around December 2011.
“We are also thinking of Shamal (North) while considering the impact of 2022 on the area … whether to open a new hospital or a community health centre,” al-Qahtani said.
“We are planning.. with the opening of the two hospitals (Dukhan, Al Wakrah) to reach almost 20,000 staff. So it’s huge business,” the minister told Gulf Times.
“Al Wakrah is built as an integrated hospital and will be linked to Hamad General Hospital (HGH), Al Khor, and others via videoconferencing. Activities will be shared,” said HMC managing director Dr Hanan al-Kuwari, who was also present on the occasion. “It will be opened gradually … in phases,” she said.
As Published
