Her Excellency Dr. Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, Minister of Public Health, opened the new intensive care unit at the Ambulatory Care Center on Tuesday. This new state-of-the-art facility will provide patients with critical care support and close monitoring following emergency or elective procedures.

This newly-opened unit is located on the 1st floor of ACC and has 14 ICU beds, including one isolation room, for surgical and medical patients. It is designed to cater to both adult patients requiring intensive care services and pediatric patients in the observation unit.

In her remarks regarding the new unit, H.E. Dr. Al Kuwari said: “The specialized unit provides high-quality services for critically ill patients primarily from the three Medical City hospitals - the ACC, Women’s Wellness and Research Center and the Qatar Rehabilitation Institute. The opening of this unit strengthens HMC’s ICU capacity and demonstrates our commitment to continually advancing the quality of care provided to patients.”

Dr. Khalid Al Jalham, Director of ACC, elaborated on the strategic decision behind the ICU’s establishment: “Traditionally an ambulatory care facility provides patient assessment, and treatment for conditions that usually enables them to go home the same day or after a short stay in a medical ward. However, during the pandemic, the ACC facility was called upon to provide ICU care for patients and set up 10 interim ICU-beds in September 2020. In 2021, 409 adult and 77 pediatric patients were admitted to the ACC’s ICU for specialist care.”

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“This project was so successful that a decision was made to establish a permanent ICU within the ACC facility. The ACC ICU now offers critical care services with 14 beds that are equipped with state-of-the-art ICU equipment and staffed with highly trained ICU personnel. I am extremely proud of my team and what they have achieved through hard work and dedication to patients,” he added.

Dr. Nissar Shaikh, Head of the ACC ICU, indicated that the unit follows international guidelines which are modified to suit the facility and patient population: “We emulated the high-standard ICU set up in Hamad General Hospital to provide high-quality intensive care; our facility is therefore based on standards from Joint Commission International (JCI), College of American Pathologists (CAP) and Compassionate Health Initiative. ACC ICU ensures that the staff maintains their professional expertise and skills according to the latest evidence-based and best practices as followed by the international critical care societies around the world.”

In this 14-bed unit, pediatric patients (aged 28 days and over) and adult patients (aged 14 years and over) receive Level 1 services (close monitoring). Level 2 & 3 services (High Dependency Unit & Intensive Care Unit) are available to adult patients (over 14 years of age). There is a high nurse-to-patient ratio on the unit so staff can concentrate on monitoring and providing supportive care for critically ill patients.

ACC's ICU cares for a wide range of patients with a variety of medical problems, often following complex surgeries. Most commonly, these are used for head and neck radical surgeries, obstetrics and gynecology patients at high risk and critically ill, and ophthalmology and urology patients with complex and severe complications. 

Following stabilization in the ICU, these patients will be transferred to a medical ward within ACC or, depending on the type of patient, they can be transferred to the Women's Wellness and Research Center or Qatar Rehabilitation Institute.

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Image credit & Source: HMC