DOHA: Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) said yesterday that since the siege began, over 13,800 patients from the four siege countries have been cared for by HMC, where these citizens visited the hospital nearly 26,000 times.

One year after the Qatar-GCC siege began, an official from HMC said the corporation has medicine and other medical supplies that cover its needs for more than a year at least, after finding local products that supply the need and the rest is provided by other suppliers from around the world, QNA reported.

“The last year has been one of the busiest in our history in terms of expansion. We officially opened the new Medical City complex and we also introduced and expanded a number of other services and facilities,” said Medical Director at HMC Dr Yousef Al Maslamani.

“The blockade forced us to look inward to find new solutions and different ways of working to deliver our services. While our focus has continued to be providing each and every one of our patients with the best possible care, the blockade presented an opportunity to be more innovative and self-reliant,” added Dr. Al Maslamani.

“We have continued to provide the best possible care to every patient, regardless of their nationality. Our care teams work with each patient to ensure they receive the right treatment, in the right place, at the right time, and that they have the information they need to make informed choices about their care,” said Dr Al Maslamani.

He noted that in cases where patients chose to stop receiving care in Qatar, every effort was made to ensure continuity of care, including communicating with their new healthcare team and providing necessary documentation where needed.

“If one of our patients chooses to stop receiving care at a HMC facility for any reason, our clinical handover process enables safe transfer to a facility of their choice. Our ultimate goal is to provide patients and their families with the support required to ensure the best possible health outcome,” added Dr Al Maslamani.

Professor Moza Al Hail, Executive Director of Pharmacy at HMC.

HMC’s Executive Director of Pharmacy, Dr. Moza Al Hail, said that while there was never any public health risk associated with a medication or medical supply shortage, some patients were initially very concerned about the potential impact of the siege on this supply.

She noted that such concerns did not materialise and in fact a number of local manufacturers prospered as a result of the siege, viewing it as an opportunity to expand and increase their production. She added that the situation also enabled HMC to test and strengthen its contingency plans.

“As part of its regular planning process, HMC maintains a large stock of medication and medical supplies. At any given time, we have many months’ supply of medications and other vital items. While some supply routes were interrupted, we successfully sourced new suppliers and explored domestic opportunities.

“Today we have strong relationships with several local companies and factories that provide various medications, including a number of the intravenous injection drugs our patients rely on,” added Dr. Al Hail.

Noting that HMC’s pharmacies receive around 6,500 patients each day, she reiterated that the loss of some regional supplies provided an opportunity to maximize ‘made in Qatar’ solutions as well as establish direct relationships with many international suppliers.

Dr. Al Maslamani reiterated Dr. Al Hail’s view about the positive impact of the siege, explaining that in early June of last year, HMC’s procurement team began working with international companies to coordinate direct purchase agreements that would prevent potential delays or interruptions caused by working with regional agents based in siege countries.

He said HMC’s procurement teams also began looking at alternative suppliers who could provide the same or similar replacement products.

The equipment and supplies department ensures the availability of medical and pharmaceutical HMC hospitals, pharmacies of health centers and government clinics.