Minister of Public Health Opens State-of-the-Art Intensive Care Unit

Her Excellency Dr. Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, Minister of Public Health, today inaugurated the new intensive care unit at the Ambulatory Care Center. The cutting-edge new facility is meant to give patients with critical care and careful monitoring following emergency or elective treatments.

The newly formed unit, which is set on the first floor of ACC, has 14 ICU beds for medical/surgical patients, as well as one isolation room.

Adult patients in need of intensive care, as well as young kids in the observation unit, can be accommodated.

"The specialized unit delivers high-quality care for critically ill patients mostly from the three Medical City institutions—the ACC, Women's Healing and Research Center, and Qatar Rehabilitation Institute," H.E. Dr. Al Kuwari remarked about the new unit.

The addition of this unit to HMC's ICU capacity underscores our commitment to providing healthcare we deliver to patients."

"Traditionally, an ambulatory care facility provides patient diagnosis and treatment for situations that usually allow them to go home the same day or after a brief stay in a medical ward," Dr. Khalid Al Jalham, Director of ACC, explained the strategic decision that led to the establishment of the ICU.

During the pandemic, however, the ACC center was relied upon to offer ICU care for patients, and in September 2020, 10 interim ICU beds were built up. In 2021, the ACC's ICU admitted 409 adult and 77 pediatric patients for specialty care."

This study was so successful that the ACC decided to create a continuous ICU within the building. The ACC ICU now has 14 beds and is staffed by highly trained ICU personnel. It uses state ICU equipment and offers critical care services.

Dr. Al Jalham continued, "I am incredibly pleased with my team and what they have accomplished through efforts and dedication to patients."

The ACC ICU follows international guidelines, which are adapted to fit the unit and patient demographic, according to Dr. Nissar Shaikh, the unit's head.

To provide high-quality intensive care, we modeled our facility after the high-standard ICU set up in Hamad General Hospital; our facility is thus based on standards from the Joint Commission (JCI), College of American Pathologists (CAP), and Compassionate Health Initiative.

The ACC ICU assures that its team maintains their professional competence and abilities in accordance with the most up-to-date evidence-based and best practices as established by international critical care societies around the world."

For young children (aged 28 days and up) and adult patients, the 14-bed facility provides Level 1 care (close monitoring) (aged 14 years and above)

It also supports adult patients with Level 2 and 3 care (High Dependency Unit and Intensive Care Unit) (above 14 years of age). The ward offers a high nurse-to-patient ratio to ensure that staff can focus on the critical-ill patients' needs, such as monitoring and supportive treatment.

The ACC's ICU admits a variety of critical care patients with a variety of medical illnesses, most of whom are recovering from difficult procedures.

These are usually reserved for difficult and critically ill urology and ophthalmology patients, as well as high-risk and critically ill obstetrics and gynecology patients.

Following stabilization in the ICU, these patients will be transported to an ACC medical ward or, depending on the type of patient, to the Women's Wellness and Research Center or the Qatar Rehab Institute.