Qatar 365: Doha is revolutionising healthcare, one facility at a time
In this week's episode, Euronews discovers how Qatar is mobilising students to join the healthcare sector and providing top-quality treatment by award-winning professionals
Transcript
00:00 By the year 2035, we'll have around 12.9 million deficiencies in the health sector.
00:09 This includes physicians, midwives, nursing, allied health professionals.
00:13 Yes, of course, we want to blame genetics, but there's a famous saying that says, "Genetics
00:18 loads the gun, but the environment pulls the trigger."
00:21 A hospital must be hospitable.
00:24 Hospitality attributes, whether it's in terms of design, whether in terms of delivery, are
00:29 more subduing to patients today.
00:35 Hello and welcome to Qatar 365 with me, Adil Halim.
00:39 On this episode, we meet the country's top medical researcher looking to halt the region's
00:44 rapid rise of diabetes cases.
00:46 And we take a look at the latest push towards making Qatar the world's leading healthcare
00:51 hub.
00:52 But first, the Qatar Career Development Center recently kicked off the fifth edition of its
00:56 My Career, My Future program.
00:58 So I came to the Hamid Medical Corporation to find out how the program will give students
01:03 real work experience across a wide range of sectors, including medicine, to help them
01:07 make informed decisions about their future.
01:14 After being with us for one week, we see a difference.
01:19 These high school students are looking into the future.
01:22 They're participating in a job shadowing experience to see if the career path they have in mind
01:27 is actually one they want to spend the rest of their life pursuing.
01:31 What I want most for the students is to enjoy this experience and leave with a solid idea
01:39 of their future and their professional careers.
01:42 I want them to get a clear understanding of how they can map their academic future, which
01:46 will lead them into their dream jobs.
01:49 The My Career, My Future program is run by the Qatar Career Development Center.
01:55 For grade 11 students, Sara Nama Al-Nama, it's a great way to figure out if a career
02:00 in medicine is for her.
02:01 So this experience will allow me to see if this is suitable for me, if I might like to
02:05 study this profession further in the future, and if it matches my personality or not.
02:11 In terms of job security, experts believe health care is a safe choice, as there is
02:15 a global need for medical professionals.
02:24 We know that from WHA that declared that by the year 2035 we'll have around 12.9 million
02:32 deficiencies in the health sector.
02:35 This includes physicians, midwives, nursing, allied health professions.
02:39 While nursing was not one of the departments the students got to visit first hand this
02:43 year, Mariam Al-Mutawwa is confident it will be next year.
02:48 Nursing is facing a global market competing opportunity and we are so precious.
02:53 So if you talk about nursing and we have free programs, so we are lucky that in Qatar we
02:56 have programs started, but the demand is so high and to enable us to build the capacity,
03:03 so we have a great, great opportunity.
03:06 Through the 100 plus job shadowing opportunities available in the My Career, My Future program,
03:11 students get an immersive experience to see what it's like to work here, for example,
03:15 at the Hamid Medical Corporation.
03:17 They can walk the hall, speak to staff, and see first hand if this is a potential career
03:22 path they envision for themselves.
03:24 And just as it's an opportunity for the students to try new things, the program itself has
03:28 evolved over the years.
03:31 Organizers moved away from daily field trips to different employers to a week-long placement
03:35 at one specific job site of the students choosing.
03:39 Exploring further helps those who already know what they want to do in the future.
03:43 Probably saving lives, touching millions of hearts, and helping others.
03:50 While being given a chance to see what health care looks like from the inside is a great
03:55 learning opportunity, with a touch of gratitude.
03:59 What a doctor does during the day and how their jobs function and how us as a community
04:07 must appreciate them.
04:12 It's been well documented that ethnic groups across the Middle East, North Africa, and
04:16 South Asia have the highest risk factors when it comes to diabetes.
04:19 But while type 2 diabetes used to be considered a life sentence because you couldn't get
04:24 rid of it, it can be reversed through a change in lifestyle.
04:28 To find out how, I met Dr. Riaz Malik, recently named the number one medical researcher in
04:33 Qatar.
04:34 Dr. Malik, a recent study in the Lancet Medical Journal says by 2050, 1.3 billion people will
04:41 be living with diabetes.
04:42 What do you attribute this to?
04:44 A fundamental problem of type 2 diabetes in I would say over 70% of people is overweight,
04:53 eating the wrong things, not doing enough exercise, gaining weight, and as a consequence
04:59 it manifests with type 2 diabetes.
05:02 What in your estimation should be done to prevent?
05:05 Of course we want to blame genetics, but there's a famous saying that says genetics loads the
05:10 gun but the environment pulls the trigger, and the environment is we eat too much, we
05:15 don't do enough exercise, and as a consequence we're overweight, and so we now need to start
05:22 at grassroots children.
05:24 Our children need to be educated to prevent them from being obese.
05:29 This part of the world is terrible.
05:32 I see kids who are 120 kilograms.
05:36 What do you expect?
05:38 So that needs to start from basics, and actually in Qatar we're doing it.
05:44 There is a really excellent community programs to try to address this.
05:49 So I always have this message that I give to patients, which is there are four evils
05:53 in the world in the food, and that is pasta, potatoes, rice, and bread.
05:59 They're all the good stuff and they're all white.
06:05 It resonates with people, and that's one aspect that I always advise, that you eat less of
06:11 them.
06:12 I can't say to people, stop eating them.
06:14 The second thing is restricted time eating.
06:17 I mean that you eat one good meal a day, it doesn't matter what you eat actually, but
06:22 you have a minimum of 14 to 18 hours between eating.
06:28 That actually changes your metabolism and it improves, we know it causes weight loss
06:34 but also improves diabetes outcomes.
06:36 You were recently named the number one medical researcher in Qatar.
06:39 You published 450 papers.
06:41 What are some of the findings you're most proud of?
06:43 Alhamdulillah, first of all, has to be corneal confocal microscopy.
06:48 And that's a bit of a mouthful, isn't it?
06:49 So what is corneal confocal microscopy?
06:52 It's a scan of your eye.
06:53 So we actually looked at people with multiple sclerosis, dementia, schizophrenia, Parkinson's
06:58 disease, and we actually have better data to show that we can scan the eye and it predicts,
07:05 helps us to identify neurodegenerative change in people with dementia, for example.
07:10 So just so I understand, so a simple scan can be predictive as far as potential early
07:16 onset Parkinson's, diabetes, dementia, like all of these diseases.
07:20 Artificial intelligence is awesome.
07:22 AI has come along and instead of looking at maybe two or three things in that scan, it
07:27 looks like 2,400 different aspects of it.
07:30 And he's able to say to me with almost 90% certainty that this is a scan from a patient
07:36 with Parkinson's disease, this is a scan from a patient who's going to get dementia or multiple
07:41 sclerosis.
07:43 So that's the new world that we're looking at.
07:45 And that's where, honestly, I say we need to harness AI.
07:49 We don't need to fear it.
07:53 Molding future doctors and caregivers and being at the forefront of medical research
07:57 aren't the only pillars of growth for Qatar's healthcare industry.
08:01 Investments in state of the art medical facilities and revolutionizing patient treatments are
08:05 also part of the country's push to tap into a market that's projected to hit $12 billion
08:11 by 2024.
08:12 So it's no wonder one of Qatar's newest healthcare institutions, Amman Hospital, is bringing
08:17 together medical expertise with a personalized service.
08:20 Laila Humayun takes a look at the science behind hospitality in healthcare.
08:29 Quality medical care, state of the art technology, and internationally recognized doctors.
08:35 Excellency is at the very core of Amman Hospital's values.
08:40 Along with medical expertise, the team has a wealth of experience in hospitality and
08:45 luxury management, making sure each patient is taken care of every step of the way.
08:51 Traditional hospitals can be a cold and somber place, but that's a reputation the Amman
08:56 Hospital wants to change.
08:59 From the color scheme to personalized care, great attention to detail is made to a patient's
09:04 journey.
09:05 And part of that is the holistic experience to help reduce the stress and anxiety of illness.
09:12 In order to enhance patient satisfaction, comfort, and overall experience, you have
09:17 to be hospitable.
09:18 We focus on the sensorial experience of the patient in terms of their smell, their sight,
09:25 and what they can hear.
09:26 And all of this has been proven through studies that it improves the patient's experience
09:32 in a hospital.
09:35 Studies also show that intentional post-surgery support can boost a patient's recovery.
09:40 That's why it's such an essential part of Amman Hospital's health care strategy.
09:45 We believe that quality nutrition is an integral part of the recovery process of the patients.
09:52 Hence, as part of our team here, we have an executive chef and a team in his kitchen who
09:58 are solely responsible to deliver quality, nutritious meals to both the patient, from
10:05 a recovery perspective, and to their families.
10:08 The hospital has also invested heavily on acquiring the most high-tech medical equipment
10:13 available in the market across various fields of treatment.
10:18 Technology innovation is a fundamental pillar that this hospital is built on.
10:23 In the radiology department, we made sure we had the latest technology in CT, MRI, and
10:29 the ultrasound machines.
10:30 And this enables us not only in regular radiologic procedures, but specifically for advanced
10:36 cardiac imaging and cardiac CT.
10:38 When it comes to research, Amman Hospital has access to an international database.
10:43 According to Dr. Safadi, they are the first health care institution outside the UK to
10:49 be included in the Imperial College Private Health Care Network, which is a renowned affiliation
10:54 allowing members to share knowledge and expertise to boost patient care and operations.
11:00 It's linked to a largest network of teaching hospitals in the UK.
11:06 Imperial College Health Care NHS Trust has five hospitals across Northwest London.
11:12 So our consultants have the privilege to first-hand visit the hospitals and participate as observers
11:19 in their multidisciplinary discussions.
11:21 Despite being one of Qatar's newest hospitals, expansion plans are already underway.
11:27 Next year, Amman Hospital is set to open a clinic in downtown Masharrab, in the heart
11:32 of the capital, Doha.
11:33 We hope you enjoyed this episode where we met young, bright-eyed Qatari students hoping
11:40 to make their mark in the field of medicine and took a deep dive into diabetes with the
11:45 top medical researcher in the country.
11:47 But that's all the time we have for now.
11:49 For more, check out euronews.com and connect with us through our hashtag.
11:52 Thanks for watching, and we'll see you next time on Qatar 365.
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