Qatar Foundation ushers in new era of healthcare

Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation (QF), recently officially inaugurated Sidra Medicine - a brand new, world-leading women's and children's hospital in Qatar. The grand opening reflects the country's broader focus and commitment to transforming the provision of healthcare for the national population, as well as regional and international patients.

One of the most ambitious greenfield hospital developments of its kind, Sidra Medicine represents the vision of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser to develop the region's leading academic medical center and provide healthcare of the highest global standards for the people of Qatar and beyond. The high-tech facility is situated in a striking building designed by world-leading architect Cesar Pelli. More than 4,000 highly trained clinical and support staff representing over 95 nationalities have been drawn by the hospital's ambitious vision to care for women, children and young people.

Commenting on the ceremony, Peter Morris, CEO of Sidra Medicine said: "Sidra Medicine's vision is to become a beacon of learning, discovery and exceptional care. Under the leadership of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, we have made incredible progress in a short space of time and laid strong foundations for our future success. At Sidra Medicine we have globally competitive clinicians and scientists working together on a single campus with state-of-the-art equipment and technology in a stunning new hospital."

With access to leading technology ranging from intra-operative MRIs and robotic assisted surgical systems, experts at Sidra Medicine focus on treating a range of highly complex, challenging conditions. Some of the children's specialist services include cardiology, neurology, urology and plastics and craniofacial reconstruction.

The hospital will address the growing need for specialist children's and maternity care by offering services previously unavailable in Qatar, and in many cases across the wider MENA region. It is also pioneering leading biomedical research with the potential to support highly personalized and targeted treatments for specific diseases by collaborating with the Qatar Biobank and the Qatar Genome Programme (QGP). The QGP, a member of QF, is an ambitious population-based project designed to generate genome sequencing and molecular data about the Qatari population and link it to a national electronic medical record system in support of personalized medicine.

Among its many other research priorities, Sidra Medicine focuses on developing detailed epidemiological data to understand the biochemical and molecular diagnosis of childhood diabetes in Qatar. Efforts to build an accurate bank of data showing the causes of diabetes for the entire pediatric population are underway, with the aim to tailor treatment for each child cared for at Sidra Medicine.