SCH and HMC officials at the press conference yesterday. PICTURE: Shameer Rasheed

By Joseph Varghese/Staff Reporter
The Supreme Council of Health (SCH), in collaboration with Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), will organise the International Conference on Emergency Medicine and Public Health - Qatar (ICEP-Q 2016) from January 14 to 18.
To be held at the Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC), it is the first such conference in the GCC. Over 45 papers related to emergency medicine will be
presented at the conference.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Sheikh Dr Mohammed bin Hamad al-Thani, director, public health at SCH, said that ICEP-Q 2016 will be a major international event in emergency medicine and public health.
He said: “This conference will discuss various areas of emergency medicine such as accidents, food poison and communicable diseases. The conference will explore ways to bring down the large number of injuries and mortality rates on account of such diseases.
“There is a great lineup of distinguished international speakers from a wide spectrum of emergency care and public health organisations across the world. We expect more than 1,000 delegates from all around the world to share and discuss their experience in the fields of emergency medicine and public health. This will be the first of its kind in the GCC and the second in the world that will show the unique interface of public health department and the emergency department.”
Sheikh Dr Hassan bin Ali al-Thani, head of trauma and vascular surgery section at HMC, noted that emergency medicine as a specialty, holds an integral position in addressing several public health concerns such as management of chronic conditions, injuries and health risks and the delivery of clinical and preventive services.
“Emergency departments serve as points of entry into the healthcare system for a large percentage of the population; hence the conference intends to highlight the importance of focusing on the crucial interface between two major domains of healthcare - Emergency Medicine and Public Health. Additionally, emergency departments serve as sites of surveillance for the public health community,” he added.
The scientific programme of ICEP-Q 2016 aims to cover infectious disease, trauma, paediatric emergency medicine, medical toxicology, emergency ultrasound, medical education, emergency psychiatry, pre-hospital and disaster medicine, emergency nursing and many other relevant topics. The scientific programme will be further enriched by an exhibition featuring the latest innovations in healthcare, technology and pharmaceuticals.
The ICEP-Q keynote speakers include Sheikh Dr Mohammed (of SCH), Sheikh Dr Hassan (of HMC), Dr Lee Wallis (president of the African Federation for Emergency Medicine, University of Cape Town), Dr Della Corte Francesco (University of Eastern Piedmont), Dr Barbara J Reynolds (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention) and Dr Peter Cameron (HMC).