Doha, 2 July, 2019: Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) today marked the inauguration of the expanded Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU), located within Hamad General Hospital, with a visit from Her Excellency Dr. Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, Minister of Public Health.
The state-of-the-art SICU offers a higher level of care than a standard ICU, so patients who have had more complex surgeries can receive the highest standard of post-operative care from staff trained in specialist post-surgical care. The SICU also cares for patients with life-threatening conditions as well as severely ill patients requiring frequent monitoring and potential intervention or ventilation.
The inauguration of the expanded SICU marks the completion of the surgical services facility, which was officially opened in 2016 by His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.
Commenting on the inauguration of the expanded SICU, Her Excellency Dr. Al Kuwari said: “HMC is on a journey to improve and expand surgical, trauma, and emergency services and capacity in Qatar. The new surgical services facility at Hamad General Hospital has helped to meet the growing demand for high-quality surgical care in Qatar and ensure that we stay ahead of demand for these services. This most recent expansion of our SICU has helped achieve this aim so we can continue to provide the very best care for surgical patients for many years to come.”
The expanded SICU will enable a greater number of patients to be cared for, including those undergoing emergency and elective surgery. Since opening in 2016, the capacity of the unit has almost doubled with the number of beds increasing from 15 to 27. The SICU features a direct link to both the Hamad General Hospital Operating Theater Suites and the new Surgical Specialty Center. It has four isolation rooms, including three negative pressure rooms, and family waiting rooms.
Dr. Abdulla Al Ansari, Acting Chief Medical Officer at HMC said the completion of the SICU expansion marks the final phase in the Hamad General Hospital Operating Theater Expansion project, which began in 2013.
“The expansion of Hamad General Hospital’s surgical services is part of an ambitious and comprehensive plan to increase capacity and enhance the hospital’s surgical capabilities to ensure we are providing the most advanced techniques available to Qatar’s population. The surgical services facility houses 20 state-of-the-art surgical theaters, a 19-bed Trauma Intensive Care Unit, and state-of-the-art real-time imaging through CT, MRI, Brain Lab, and Artis Zeego imaging technology. It also features a da Vinci Xi surgical robot used for specialist and general surgeries,” said Dr. Al Ansari.
