ISO 9001:2008 CERTIFIED NEWSPAPER ON SATURDAY HEALTHCARE HASSLES 19 fancy car numbers fetch over QR400m DOHA: More than QR400m has been collected in the first online auction for 19 fancy car numbers, organised by the Traffic Department. The biggest bid was for 336633 at QR200.43m, followed by 333355 (QR200.4m) and 337337 (QR12.312m). Brigadier Mohammed Saad Al Kharji, Director-General of the department, said the winners should collect their numbers on Sunday and Monday after submitting cheques for the amount. If they fail, they will forfeit the earnest deposit of QR20,000 and the right to their numbers. Sources told local Arabic daily Al Raya that auctions for 10,000 fancy numbers in batches are planned. Participation starts with a minimum bid of QR100,000. Bids are made through the Ministry of Interior’s Metrash2. Buyers have to enter their ID numbers and expiry date. Govt loses QR761m on infrastructure projects DOHA: Reviews of infrastructure projects by State Audit Bureau show that contractors had to pay QR761m ($209m) in compensations and fines for delays during 2013-14 but the money was never recovered. The government has yet to receive the amount, the local Arabic daily Al Raya reported yesterday, citing Annual Achievement Book released by the General Secretariat of the Cabinet. The bureau reviewed hundreds of contracts awarded and projects com- pleted and made over 1,200 observations. Some 43 percent of observations were THE ISSUE about weak supervision and internal control systems. Five percent of obser- vations were about poor planning and poor asset/project management, five The private healthcare sector due to their inadequate infrastructure the noose on their operations. percent were about extra money spent, in Qatar is witnessing rapid facilities and shortage of skilled manpower. Their complaints range from proce- and some two percent about failure to For several years, private clinics have dural delays in issuing licences to newly- recover arrears for the government. growth, reflected in the opening been facing criticisms from citizens and recruited healthcare professionals to Design: Abraham Augusthy of many clinics across the expatriates for their allegedly exorbi- authorities’ failure to ensure availability Dermatology OPD to country. The ambitious National tant fees and poor services, forcing the of several life-saving medicines in the local Supreme Council of Health ( SCH) to market. have five more rooms Health Insurance Scheme (Seha) impose a price freeze until Seha is fully They also feel they should be given is expected to give a further implemented. more freedom and opportunities for medi- DOHA: The Department of boost to the sector, providing The national insurance scheme is cal practice to effectively compete in the Dermatology is adding five more expected to unify and standardise fees of market. rooms to its outpatient department citizens and expatriates with private healthcare facilities and raise their There is a need for more private clinics (OPD) at Hamad General Hospital easy access to all public and standards. and hospitals to meet the requirements to cater to an increasing number of SCH has laid down rules and regula- of the burgeoning population and address patients. In the total daily turnout of private healthcare providers. tions for private facilities and practition- crowding at a few public hospitals. patients at various OPDs, the derma- ers and updated them from time to time. In the years to come, Qatar is expected tology (skin diseases) department has espite the recent growth in num- A strict monitoring system is in place to see a positive competition between pri- a share of 15 percent. Dr Mohamed bers, private clinics/hospitals to ensure healthcare providers abide by vate healthcare providers who will also be Mohiuddin, Skin Diseases Consultant, are suffering many problems. rules and regulations. allowed to compete with public hospitals Hamad Medical Corporation, told Al D Many facilities that have However, many providers feel authori- and health centres currently dominating Sharq that there are 19 dermatology joined Seha are struggling to cope with a ties need to do more to address their prob- the sector. clinics in Qatar. He said skin diseases sudden increase in the number of patients lems and concerns, apart from tightening See also page 2 are tackled with latest methods and technologies. THE PENINSULA Saturday 15 November 2014 • 22 Muharram 1436 • Volume 19 • Number 6250 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com [email protected] | [email protected] Editorial: 4455 7741 | Advertising: 4455 7837 / 4455 7780 02 NOVEMBER 15, 2014 ON SATURDAY www.thepeninsulaqatar.com Home JJ Not all well with private healthcare Shortage of life-saving medicines, licence and procedural delays cited as major problems he healthcare sector in Qatar remains aggravate with a major reduction in the prices heavily dominated by the public sector of medicines recently imposed following a GCC but a gradual shift in favour of private decision to unify import prices. Tclinics and hospitals is expected to hap- “Reducing prices is a good move but authori- pen with full implementation of the National ties should ensure that dealers do not stop Health Insurance Scheme (Seha). importing medicines they may find not profit- Questions have been raised as to what extent able,” said Dr Moopan. private clinics and hospitals are prepared to Apart from the shortage of drugs, some clinics take up challenges lying ahead. The other side have problems with some private insurance pro- of the issue is whether they have been given a viders which are “selective” in their approach. free hand to effectively compete. They allegedly choose some clinics and refuse The Peninsula spoke to doctors and officials to serve others. from private healthcare facilities to know their “Why are they selective? The Supreme views on problems and challenges facing them. Council of Health (SCH) has not graded any Almost all admitted that there are issues that clinics for such purposes,” Dr Kalandan said, need authorities’ immediate attention. expressing dismay. A major problem pointed out by most respond- He said some international medical insurance ents is the severe shortage of some life-saving companies operating in Qatar are resorting to (emergency) medicines in the market and their such practices. non-availability in private pharmacies, which “This practice may continue even if national often makes treatment difficult. insurance is implemented because these compa- They cited Sorbitrate, a tablet commonly used nies would be providing additional insurance as to provide temporary relief to patients suffering a rider to basic insurance under Seha,” he added. from chest pain and heart problems. It should He said there are some private and semi-gov- be kept under the patient’s tongue. ernment companies that refuse to accept sick “This tablet is not available in private phar- leave certificates from certain clinics. macies. As per rules, doctors are not permit- “If they have a complaint against any clinic ted to stock medicines. Non-availability of such issuing bogus certificates, why can’t they go to drugs could be a real problem for doctors while SCH? Why discriminate against clinics,” he treating patients. asked. “Suppose a heart patient with chest pain Dr Kalandan hoped authorities would inter- is waiting in a clinic for a Hamad Medical vene to address such issues. Corporation (HMC) ambulance. The doctor can Most officials praised rules and regulations However, some complained about “procedural be extremely cautious about making mistakes,” give him temporary relief if required medicines being imposed by SCH to raise the standards delays” in issuing licences to newly-recruited said Al Ajji. are available,” said Dr Sameer Kalandan, who of private clinics and hospitals. doctors, nurses and paramedical staff. He, however, feels that National Health runs a private clinic in Doha. “We are facing problems in getting licences. Insurance Company is working with facilities Metoclopramide and Stemetil to treat nausea We have been trying to obtain a licence for a to help address such issues. and vomiting were also cited as examples. new doctor for several months now but we are “We have a good communication with authori- “The problem is that licensed dealers do not still waiting,” said an official of Qatar Medical ties in this regard,” he added. import such medicines, probably because they Center. Despite problems and challenges, all officials are not profitable. This should not be allowed He said such delays could cause major losses sounded optimistic about a better future for to happen. Authorities should ensure suffi- to healthcare providers because new recruits private healthcare facilities, especially with the cient supply of such life-saving drugs,” said Dr are not permitted to start work until they have introduction of Seha. Kalandan. a licence from SCH. Scores of private clinics have come up in the Dr Sameer Moopan, CEO, Aster DM We are required to keep “Licensing procedures for new staff take a country in the past few years and many more Healthcare that runs six polyclinics in Qatar, an ‘emergency cart’ in long time. We have been asked to produce some are in the pipeline. went further and said, “We are required to keep documents again and again. There is also a com- No new private hospital has been opened for an ‘emergency cart’ in clinics but what is the clinics but what is the use munication problem in this regard,” said an offi- several years but this is going to change with use of it without the essential medicines? We are cial of Al Shefa Polyclinic. SCH giving the green signal to private investors forced to buy them from HMC at higher prices, of it without the essential According to Dr Moopan, talents and experi- to go ahead with their projects. in limited quantities.” ences of some doctors cannot be fully utilised The Seha network includes three private hos- For many other medicines, only limited ver- medicines? We are forced due to the different criteria adopted by SCH in pitals, more than 40 clinics and several specialist sions/options are available in the local market.