Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) has confirmed that it is taking the utmost care to protect patients and medical personnel from the risks of transmission of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

The Head of Al Thumama Health Center at PHCC, Dr. Hanadi Al Hail, said in press statements that PHCC has developed a comprehensive plan for health center patients that includes the presence of medical staff at the gates to take the pathological history of each patient and measure temperature and separate suspected cases with directing them to emergency department which prevents them from mixing with other patients, as well as organising waiting and reception areas and marking and tips for social distancing to ensure everyone’s safety.

She explained that among the measures, medical consultations were activated remotely over the phone to communicate with patients in most services, such as family and specialty medicine clinics, dentistry, nutrition, psychological and health education, while the health centers continue to receive emergency cases, in addition, medicines are dispensed to patients through home delivery services in cooperation with Qatar Post, especially for the elderly who are more susceptible to the disease, in order to reduce the frequency of visitors to health centers for routine cases in order to preserve their safety and to reduce crowding and infection risks.

As for the precautions taken to protect the medical staff, Dr. Hanadi Al Hail pointed out that the medical teams in health centers are constantly keen to wear medical facial masks, hand washing and the use of sanitizers , while ensuring distancing, especially since medical staff are considered models for patients.

On quarantine, Dr. Hanadi explained that the quarantine is usually applied when an infectious disease spreads, whereby those who are exposed to infection are required to remain at home or in a place designated for quarantine in order to prevent the spread of the disease to others and as an attempt to control disease conditions.

She added that during quarantine, people are followed up in terms of the appearance of any pathological symptoms such as high body temperature and others, while the quarantine period is determined based on the incubation period of the disease.

With regard to tests for COVID-19, Dr. Hanadi Al Hail said that PHCC first assesses cases by a doctor, and in the event that a person is suspected to be infected, a patient’s swab shall be made according to the protocol, where the results appear within 12 to 24 hours from the time of taking the samples, then the specialized team will inform the patient of the result and give the appropriate instructions in both cases, whether the result is negative or positive.