HMC revamps nursing service

The Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has embarked upon a complete transformation of nursing to provide the most effective and caring services to patients, a spokesperson for the corporation said. HMC is also hiring 1,700 nurses in the coming year across its eight hospitals and in Home Healthcare Services. The comprehensive efforts include the recruitment of highly trained specialist nurses, investment in targeted education and research programmes to develop the Qatari nurse leaders of the future, and a commitment to the provision of high-quality, compassionate care to all patients. The plans will also see a complete overhaul of nursing governance at HMC so that high powered nurse leaders will take their places alongside medical leaders as professional peers, providing multi-disciplinary care and executive leadership. Dr Hanan al-Kuwari, managing director of HMC, announced a number of new nursing leadership appointments to the new governance structure yesterday and also said that a Director of Nursing Education and Research would be appointed shortly. “Our objective at Hamad is to deliver nursing care focused totally on the needs of each and every patient and their family. Our highly trained nurses will take on new and specialised roles to provide the most effective care, reflecting international best practice. Equally important is how doctors, patients and society at large view the important contribution made by experienced and dedicated nursing professionals,” said Dr al-Kuwari. “Our vision is for expert nurses to promote good health, deliver excellent care and treat all patients with the utmost dignity and respect in our multi-cultural community, across all of our hospitals. We are investing in training and nurturing Qatari nurse leaders of the future to implement that vision,” added Dr al-Kuwari. As a reflection of the importance of nursing leadership, one of the country’s most senior and respected nurse executives, Dr Nabila al-Meer, has been promoted within HMC as Deputy Chief for Community Care and SCH Nursing Affairs. Dr al-Meer has had a long and distinguished career at HMC, spanning almost 40 years. She is the first Qatari nurse to obtain a Master of Science in Administration at University of Texas and PhD in nursing from University of Miami, USA, and has held an adjunct faculty position at Qatar University for six years teaching Nursing Administration and Leadership. In her new role, she will provide leadership to the residential and community workforce and also help to redefine the model of care for long-term patients and home care services. Hamad has growing home care, residential and nursing homes programmes throughout Qatar. Over 670 patients are registered in Hamad’s home care programme, which includes community and home healthcare services. Close to 140 patients are located in residential and nursing homes that are managed by the corporation. Dr al-Meer’s previous role as Executive Director of Nursing will now be held by Dr Ann-Marie Cannaby, who joined HMC recently. Dr Cannaby has more than 20 years of experience in a variety of clinical managerial and research posts in large UK teaching hospitals. A crucial element of HMC’s nursing strategy is to train and develop excellent Qatari nurse leaders. Targeted nursing education and strategic research efforts are key building blocks in the establishment of an academic health system. HMC has worked closely with the University of Calgary in Qatar (UCQ) to deliver accredited Diploma and Bachelor Degree courses in nursing. In previous years, 26 students have graduated from the university and joined HMC full-time. A further 20 graduate nurses are expected to follow later this year. “There is a real benefit to encouraging and nurturing local students to enter into the noble profession of nursing. Nursing is a vocation that should embody the most honourable of human qualities in caring for others during their time of need. But it is also a highly skilled profession and we want to meet international best practice through specialist education and continued training,” said Dr Badriya al-Lenjawi, who will lead the professional development of HMC’s nursing workforce.” Dr al-Lenjawi received her Master of Nursing from Whitworth College in the USA. She was the first Qatari nurse to graduate with an MSN in Adult Critical Care Nursing (Clinical Nurse Specialist). To enhance service delivery and improve the health outcomes of patients, HMC has introduced a new breed of nursing professionals. In the past year HMC has appointed 17 new Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNSs), with another 37 to be recruited in the coming year. CNSs are licensed registered nurses who have graduate nursing qualifications such as a Masters or Doctorate in Nursing. They are experts at diagnosing and treating illnesses and are responsible for providing evidence-based treatments and interventions. A CNS improves clinical outcomes through expert consultation, care co-ordination, monitoring quality indicators and professional communication between the healthcare team and the patient and their family. These new nurse leaders will be a growing part of HMC’s future workforce. HMC is also hiring another 1,700 nurses in the coming year across its eight hospitals and in Home Healthcare Services. Communicating well with patients, and also across different professional disciplines, is essential to promoting teamwork and supporting the organisation’s desired model of compassionate care. HMC has put in place plans to improve the communications skills for staff on different levels, including the provision of language training for non-Arabic speaking staff.