Doha: Due to the rise in the number of new cases of COVID-19 in Qatar and along with the emergence around the world of the new Omicron variant, the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) has implemented modifications to service delivery for the purpose of protecting public health.
The below services have been adjusted accordingly.
The Family Medicine Model (FMM), Allied Health, and speciality services will run at 50% face-to-face consultation and 50% virtual consultation. Dental General and Speciality will also be reduced to 50% face-to-face consultations, and virtual consultations, where appropriate.
Well-baby clinic services will continue to operate at 100% capacity, while the SMART nursing assessment clinics will be postponed until further notice, with SMART consultation appointments being carried out virtually.
Virtual consultations, both telephone and video, will be offered at all PHCC Health Centers, where available, and the Community Call Center will continue to operate as usual. The community will also continue to benefit from the Nara’akom smartphone app which provides comprehensive digitized healthcare management on-the-go.
In addition, ‘Drive-Thru’ swabbing services will continue provided as usual at the 14 HCs from 4pm to 11pm daily “noting that 10.30pm is the last time of accepting patients in the drive thru”, and COVID-19 Vaccination services will continue to operate at 100% capacity.
Dr Samya Abdulla, senior consultant of Family Medicine & Executive Director of Operations at Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) said: “Adapting primary care capacity to meet changing demands comes as part of our continued commitment to protect and serve the community, while ensuring that our services remain easily and safely accessible.”
“Our Health Center services include a combination of face-to-face and virtual consultations, so we have ensured that we are able to offer reliable continuity of health care services to all the communities we serve, while dhering to all the necessary precautionary measures. I encourage everyone to continue to follow our news for updates and the guidelines from the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH),” added Dr Samya Abdulla,
PHCC Health Canters has placed stringent safety and preventive measures in place to manage face-to-face patient appointments. These measures include smart scheduling of appointments, the use of personal protective equipment, social distancing, regular virus testing for its staff, as well as strict hygiene and disinfection protocols.