By Fazeena Saleem
DOHA: Minister of Public Health H E Abdulla bin Khalid Al Qahtani yesterday officially inaugurated the Qatar Neonatal Transport Program at Women’s Hospital, an emergency transportation service for high-risk newborns.
The service, provided by Women’s Hospital with Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC)’s Ambulance Service, is to bring high-risk neonates from public and private hospitals to Women’s Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for specialist tertiary treatment.
A team is available on call round-the-clock, with equipment stationed at the NICU ready to be deployed within 20 minutes.
However, the transport will take four to six hours depending on the baby’s condition.
NICU has four sets of transport equipment on standby and specialised Emergency Care Unit (ICU) ambulances. It will be increased to six in February.
During the inauguration, Al Qahtani was given a demonstration of emergency transportation equipment used to carry at-risk newborns. Dr Hanan Al Kuwari, Managing Director, HMC, was present along with other HMC officials.
“NICU is the only tertiary care facility in the country catering to newborns. The Qatar Neonatal Transport Programme offers all hospitals with birthing units a crucial time-saving service to bring any at-risk babies to the specialist treatment available at Women’s Hospital as quickly as possible,” said Dr Al Kuwari.
Prior to the official inauguration, a one-year pilot project of the programme was implemented at Women’s hospital, which has helped reduce the mortality rate.
“The pilot programme has seen a reduction in the mortality rate of newborns transported to the hospital, so it was imperative that the service should be offered on a permanent basis,” Dr Hilal Al Rifai, Medical Director, Women’s Hospital, told a press conference.
Last year, 23,000 births were recorded across the country and 18,000 at the Women’s Hospital. According to data from 2002 to October 31, 2014, on average 25 to 30 at-risk babies were transported per year.
But since the pilot project was implemented, 88 were transported and only one died two days after transfer.
During the pilot project, the mortality rate came down from 3.82 to 1.13.
“However, deaths due to congenital complications cannot be treated. The 1.13 percent mortality rate exists because they cannot be treated. The survival rate is one of the highest in the world,” said Dr Al Rifai.
Newborns at high risk could have congenital or surgical anomalies, respiratory distress or require emergency invasive surgery.
Ambulances which transport babies are converted to ICU units with back-up systems to ensure transportation is smooth.
“Once we receive a call from the referring hospital, the transport team mobilises very quickly. We have an on-call transport team of three: A physician, respiratory therapist and a nurse, at any time, who along with emergency equipment and an ICU ambulance team, head to the hospital facility to retrieve at-risk child or children in case of multiple pregnancies,” said Dr Fouad Abounahia, Director, Women’s Hospital Neonatologist and Qatar Neonatal Transport Programme.
THE PENINSULA
