NewsDetail
Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Psychiatry Department has formally opened a new mental health service at Al Wakra Hospital (AWH), thereby increasing access to specialized mental health care for patients across the hospital’s medical, surgical and emergency departments.
Dr. Mohammad Ali, Senior Consultant Psychiatrist leading the implementation at AWH said: “We started setting up our mental health service at AWH in January 2015 to serve the community in Al Wakra. The service, which provides consultation across departments to patients who may also have other existing conditions, is staffed by a multidisciplinary team consisting of a senior consultant psychiatrist, an old age consultant psychiatrist, a specialist psychiatrist, a clinical psychologist, a social worker, an occupational therapist and administrative staff.”
The bulk of the mental health team’s everyday duties include covering AWH’s Emergency Department on a 24/7 basis. The service also runs an outpatient clinic twice a week. “We see on average 200 patients per month across all medical specialties, and the most common referrals to our service involve patients with depression, but we see patients who are experiencing a range of mental illnesses which we are now able to assess and begin treatment for on location at AWH. All cases referred to our mental health service are assessed on the same day based on clinical priorities,” Dr. Ali said.
“We also plan to expand our mental health services further to include home visits and community-based care. Expanding the range of settings where we can provide specialized care will allow us to provide treatment based on individual patient need. It will also contribute towards changing negative attitudes towards mental health issues and increasing the number of people who have access to the care they need, in line with the National Mental Health Strategy,” Dr. Ali explained.
Dr. Ali emphasized that mental illness can occur for a number of reasons and can affect anyone regardless of social circumstances, age or gender, and that it can be treated just like any physical illness.
The key is increasing early detection and support for patients, which is a focus of the Psychiatry Department as it develops its services, including plans to initiate specialized clinics for patients with irritable bowel syndrome, obese patients, and patients with other life-affecting conditions. These types of conditions are often linked to occurrences of anxiety or depression, which are both common and treatable mental illnesses.
Dr. Ali also stated that if a person is concerned that they may be experiencing mental illness, they should make an appointment to see a primary/family physician or seek a referral from their current specialist doctor. “Primary healthcare physicians are trained to be able to treat some types of mental illnesses and where they are not they can make the appropriate referral. HMC’s Psychiatry Department is the main provider of specialist mental health care in the country and can help people with all types of mental illness, ranging from the mild to the severe.
