HMC’s corporate social affairs services and Jassim and Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation have signed an agreement to provide home care to more than 40 elderly patients.
The agreement, which was part of a donation of QR750,000 by the foundation, was signed between the two institutions during a brief ceremony held at Medical City on Monday.
“This agreement comes in a bid to alleviate the suffering and stress being experienced by the elderly Qataris, especially those on wheelchair, who are suffering as a result of frequent visits to the hospital when they need to change their catheter,” HMC urology department assistant head and consultant Dr Khalid al-Jalham said.
Catheters are medical devices that can be inserted in the body to treat diseases or perform a surgical
procedure.
Catheters can be inserted into a body cavity, duct, or vessel and they allow drainage, administration of fluids or gases, access by surgical instruments, and also perform a wide variety of other tasks depending on the type of catheter.
“Some of our geriatric patients need to come and change their catheter every four-six weeks in order to avoid infections and a good number of them suffer. They’ll need to be transported to and from the hospital each time for the procedure, which usually lasts only 10 minutes,” Dr al-Jalham maintained.
He explained further that with the support from the Jassim and Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation, HMC nurses comprising one male and one female, can now visit the elderly patients in their homes and carry out the procedure while also ensuring their privacy.
“This is a new concept aimed at improving our services and it could be developed into a small mobile unit. Some 35 patients have already been enlisted for the service to be carried out once a week,” he added.
The Jassim and Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation was established in 2001 to ensure non-governmental sector in Qatar works professionally and transparently.
Its founding members are HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani as the chairman and Sheikh Nwaf bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani as the deputy chairman.
The foundation is working to engage proactively with other charities, governmental and non-governmental bodies and communities to promote projects and initiatives that are of benefit to all, especially in the health and education fields.