(MENAFN- The Peninsula) fazeena saleem |
The Peninsula
Doha: The inevitable necessity of continuing to build resilient healthcare systems across the globe including Qatar in the post COVID-19 pandemic era has been emphasised by a senior official.
The COVID-19 pandemic has indicated the importance to develop and maintain healthcare systems that are resilient, equitable, efficient, and sustainable, Deputy Chief Medical Officer at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Dr. Abdullatif Al Khal said recently.
“As humans it is easy for us to forget quickly the disasters that we went through – this should not happen. The world should learn from what all the countries went through in terms of suffering and pain because of the COVID-19, because of the lack of preparedness,” said Dr. Al Khal, who is also the Chair of the National Health Strategic Group on COVID-19 and Head of Infectious Diseases at the HMC.
He was speaking to media on the sidelines of the Middle East Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare 2023, held recently, highlighting the importance of resilient healthcare systems in unpredictable times.
The pandemic has put health systems under extreme pressure. They have had to adapt to changing circumstances, while continuing to provide high quality healthcare. Ongoing and future challenges, such as antimicrobial resistance and climate change, also require resilient healthcare systems.
“The strength, resilience and capacity that are in place as part of the response to the pandemic should continue. Because such disasters are unpredictable, we don't know if we will have a pandemic in a year or two. So it's very important that those countries including Qatar continue investing in prevention and keep enhancing resilience and preparedness. Otherwise (in case of an unpredictable situation) we will find ourselves in the same square again,” said Dr. Al Khal.
Health system resilience is the ability of health systems not only to prepare for shocks, but also to minimise the negative consequences of such disruptions, recover as quickly as possible, and to adapt by learning lessons from the experience to become better performing and more prepared.
To mention, due to resilient plans and policies Qatar was well positioned to successfully face challenges such as COVID-19.
The healthcare sector in Qatar responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by working together across the healthcare system, in collaboration with the community, healthcare teams and they have been central to Qatar having one of the lowest COVID-19 mortality rates and one of the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the world.
MENAFN02042023000063011010ID1105929023
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.