August 2012

HMC Hospitals Announce Operating Hours for Eid, 15 August 2012

The OPD Clinics in all Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) hospitals will be closed until 25 August, and will resume normal operating hours on 26 August onwards. Other schedules are as follows:

Hamad General Hospital

The ground floor Procedure Room will be open for scheduled appointments on 16, 18-21, 23 and 25 August at 7:00am to 3:00pm.

OPD Pharmacy

Thursday, 16 August – 8:00am to 1:00pm
Tuesday, 21 August – 7:00am to 3:00pm
Thursday, 23 August – 7:00am to 3:00pm

Women’s Hospital

Follow-up (Walk-in) Clinic – will be open starting from the 2nd day of Eid (20 August to 27 August except weekends). Operating hours are from 9:00am to 1:00pm.

Newborn Screening Test – will be open on 16, 18, 20, 22, 23 and 26 August. Operating hours are from 8:00am to 1:00pm.
                                                               
OPD Pharmacy – Open 24 hours

National Center for Cancer Care and Research (NCCCR)

Day Care Unit – will be closed on the 1st and 2nd day of Eid. From the 3rd day onwards the operating hours on working days will be from 7:00am to 3:00pm as usual.

The OPD Pharmacy will be closed on the 1st and 2nd day of Eid, and will reopen on the 3rd day of Eid onwards. Operating hours from Sunday to Thursday will be from 10:00am to 1:00pm, and on Saturday will be from 12:00pm to 1:00pm.

Heart Hospital

OPD Pharmacy will open for Discharge Patients from 12:00pm to 3:00pm during Eid.

Cuban Hospital

The Cuban Hospital will be closed except for existing patients and urgent cases on referral by local general practitioners.

Rumailah Hospital

Daily DOTs (directly observed therapy) for the CDC clinic medication room will be open from 7:00am to 9:00pm daily.

The Psychiatry Clinic will be open on 21, 22 and 23 August from 10:00am to 12:00pm.

The OPD Pharmacy will be open from 8:00am to 1:00pm daily during Eid.

Source: Corporate Communication Department


HMC Partners with Qatar Independent Technical School on Apprenticeship Scheme, 7 August 2012

As part of its commitment to nurturing local talent, Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Engineering Department is working with Qatar Independent Technical School (QITS) on an apprenticeship scheme that aims to attract the best talent among young school leavers and increase the number of Qatari nationals among HMC’s engineering staff.

Robert Smith, Director of Engineering at HMC said a partnership has been established with QITS as a potential source of local future engineering talent for HMC. Under the initiative, HMC plans to offer students a two-year apprenticeship after their three-year training at QITS.

“We have started this process by modifying an existing post with specific and dedicated functions to ensure we have the best prospect of success. The new Training, Performance and Development Officer has an initial target to attract between 10 to 15 apprentices on an annual basis. The post is also charged with developing internationally recognized training and academic courses, and setting up training agreements with external agencies, training centers, educational establishments and universities. This will ensure that we are able to attract, nurture, train, educate and produce world class engineers to provide the highest quality services,” said Mr. Smith.

The partnership was formalized in a recent small ceremony at the Engineering Department, Hamad Medical City, which was attended by officials from both organizations.

“We see it as a really good opportunity for Qataris who are interested in engineering to develop their complete career path through our organization,” said Mr. Smith. “After two years of apprenticeship, the trainees will become full-fledged technicians. If they are academically-minded, they can then go on to obtain further education such as earning their master’s degrees and move further up the career ladder with the right qualifications and experience.”

There are about 20 Qatari nationals among 600 staff members currently working in HMC’s Engineering Department. The initiative, which is in keeping with the national Qatarization program, will help increase this number and satisfy recruitment needs when older employees leave HMC.

“We have about 180 people who are over 55 years old in our department, and every year we may have about 30 people leaving. Now if we have a two-year apprenticeship, in the future we will no longer need to go through the difficult process of trying to recruit internationally, where finding really good staff can be uncertain. If we can train our own people to work on our own systems, then we can ensure we have a workforce that is equipped to meet the demands of HMC,” said Mr. Smith.

Abdullah Shams, Principal of QITS said, “Our school’s strategic plan is to have a connection with all pioneer corporations, and HMC is one of these corporations that we aim to cooperate with, especially since our two organizations have certain intersecting goals. HMC needs the qualified national caliber to fill the gaps in employing Qataris. QITS is the only technical school that provides Qatari nationals with high technical certificates, and these certificates give our students the advantage over graduates of other schools.” 

QITS has more than 400 students and up to 200 students graduate per year. The students are targeted by many companies in the civil, industrial and military sectors, which are invited to participate in the school’s annual career day. HMC’s Engineering Department was one of the participants in the event.

Source: Corporate Communication Department