(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
Doha: A unique collaboration between specialist multidisciplinary healthcare teams in geriatric medicine, internal medicine, medical intensive care units (MICU) across Rumailah Hospital and Hamad General Hospital has led to the co-creation of Qatar's first Acute Weaning Unit.
The new therapeutic service is dedicated to liberating patients from mechanical ventilation and enabling them to breathe normally and thereby gain more independence.
The state-of-the-art unit was formally opened in the presence of the Minister of Public Health, H E Dr. Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari and senior leaders from HMC and Rumailah Hospital.
'Rumailah Hospital is Qatar's longest running hospital and is exemplary in how it keeps developing and expanding its services to provide specialist care to patients. The Acute Weaning Unit marks a new achievement for Rumailah Hospital during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, complementing the numerous other specialist services established there over the past year. This unit has and will continue to enable patients who post health crisis such as strokes or infections to return to normal life. It is also a testimony to the strength of the clinical leadership teams across HMC who have never wavered in their efforts to help protect and care for their patients, said Dr. Al Kuwari.
National Lead for Healthy Ageing in Qatar and Medical Director of Rumailah Hospital (RH), Dr. Hanadi Khamis Al Hamad, said a major goal of managing any patient who requires prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV) is to try and wean them off from the mechanical ventilator as soon as possible after it is deemed clinically safe.
'Reducing the amount of time a patient spends on the ventilator can substantially improve their quality of life. However, the process of waning patients who have been on a ventilator for a prolonged period of time can be challenging both clinically and emotionally for the patients and their families. Our team of experts are trained to provide specialist clinical support to patients who require basic respiratory support and minimum hourly observation. As this is a step-down unit, (where patients are no longer deemed to be in a critical stage), families can also benefit from having closer interaction and more time with their loved ones, said Dr. Al Hamad.
The multidisciplinary, rehabilitative service offered in a highly specialized, healing and caring environment which provides the physical, cognitive, and palliative therapies needed to recuperate patients.
'Once fully operational, the unit will have 13 beds, including three with dialysis capability, a dedicated therapy room and spaces for multidisciplinary (MDT) staff meetings, pharmaceuticals and supplies. The close collaboration between physicians, nurses and allied health professionals is essential to providing the necessary holistic care to patients to help them on their journey of recovery. This unit is an ideal place for continuous monitoring of the patient's condition during the initial phase of admission to the weaning unit and during active weaning trials, said Senior Consultant, MICU, Dr. Nadir Kharma.
Senior Consultant, Division Head of MICU at HGH, Dr. Abdul Salam Saif Ibrahim, said: "While mechanical ventilation is often essential to keep a person alive, but like many other clinical interventions, the risk of infection is what drives physicians to wean patients off the ventilator as soon as possible.
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