Managing Director of the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) Dr Mariam Ali Abdulmalik underlined that the health sector, since the outbreak of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, has worked hard and with dedication around the clock to protect the society and to address the pandemic.
In remarks yesterday, she said that the PHCC has spared no effort in this matter, in addition to the intensive and daily directives from HE the Minister of Public Health to follow up the process of work, in order to withstand and overcome this ordeal and to provide proper health services in accordance with the highest international standards.
She added that Qatar and its wise leadership paid exceptional attention to the health sector, to enable citizens and residents enjoy high quality health services at any time, stemming from the belief in the importance of building a healthy society in promoting the comprehensive development process at all levels.
Based on this fact, the PHCC has committed to achieving the strategic recommendations, which focus on the health of the patient, and on facilitating the experience of individuals and families when they need any of the PHCC services.
She underlined that the “Health for All” is not just a slogan, but rather a clear approach based on a well-studied plan of action that aims at the continuous development of services and the geographical and service expansion, through adopting an integrated care model that starts with the family doctor as the first point of contact for the customer service, whether to promote a healthy lifestyle and disease prevention, or to provide treatment services.
She underlined that the health sector in Qatar competes with global services in terms of quality, speed and availability of human and material capabilities, in an effort to create a healthy society free of diseases, and realises that prevention is better than cure, through the National Health Strategy 2018-2022, which emphasises the importance of health education, in addition to the medical services provided by the State to the citizen, resident and visitor alike.
She explained that the PHCC launched its strategic plan for 2019-2023 under the slogan, “A Healthier Future for Our Families”, consisting of six basic priority areas, 20 strategic goals and 80 strategic activities.
Two of the six priority areas are centred on the patient through providing integrated and high quality family medicine and focusing on preventive health, while the other four areas relate to the workforce, strong partnerships with patients, families and communities, improvement of the primary care system, co-operation for patient care and safety, as well as an effective and innovative organisation.
On the success of the Ministry of Public Health and the health institutions operating under its umbrella in confronting the coronavirus pandemic, Dr Mariam Abdulmalik said that Qatar’s strategy to respond to the (Covid-19) pandemic relies heavily on examining community members, tracking cases and placing them in health isolation as part of its efforts to reduce the spread of infection in the community.
She added that early detection of cases contributes to early treatment as well, which may prevent the emergence of complications, and this has contributed to the low death rates from the virus in Qatar, to be among the lowest rates in the world in terms of the virus-related deaths.
In the past few months, “we have had to learn and develop faster than ever before, and I am confident that we will continue to face challenges with the same determination and commitment to the quality that we have achieved so far. We are proud of the progress we have made, and we will continue our work closely with our community partners in our battle against (Covid-19),” she said.
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