Medical professionals at HMC and PHCC can provide special care to patients with hearing impairments confirms MoPH

The Public Health Ministry of Qatar (MoPH) is collaborating with HMC (Hamad Medical Corporation) & PHCC (Primary Health Care Corporation) to train cadres that deal in sign language in order to remove barriers that people with disabilities face while attempting to connect with the healthcare system.

The Ministry offered fundamental training sessions in sign language for professionals who work at HMC & PHCC, covering 26 different cadres in the two organizations, in collaboration with the two corporations.

Dr. Khalid Abdul Hadi, the Director of the Audiology & Balance Unit at HMC and the lead of the National Health Strategy (NHS) 2018–2022 'Health & Wellbeing for People with Special Needs' priority at MoPH, said that the training program is part of a series of professional courses aimed at improving communication with people with auditory disabilities who visit healthcare facilities and facilitating the delivery of healthcare & medical services to them, whether it be at HMC facilities or elsewhere.

Similar training sessions have been arranged for a large number of health & administrative cadres in the health sector, and he expressed his optimism that such training sessions would be expanded in the remaining healthcare institutions in Qatar, allowing persons with auditory disabilities to interact with all community members, in order to achieve the NHS 2018–2022 linked to persons with disabilities.

HMC and PHCC cadres attended a training course through PHCC on sign language, primarily for the benefit of people with auditory disabilities who visit health care facilities and for cadres who work at the front lines of the healthcare sector to ensure access. 

Sadriya Al Kohji, the NHS 'Healthy Children and Adolescents' priority lead, said the course primarily targeted HMC and PHCC cadres, so that they could communicate effectively with individuals with auditory disabilities who visit health care facilities. 

The course, according to Dr. Al Kohji, strives to supply and legalize services to accommodate all members of society, including people with disabilities of all ages, in order to give medical care in a welcoming and acceptable atmosphere for all members of the community. Through unrestricted access to services, the sign language training course supports the NHS's 'Health & Wellbeing for People with Special Needs' goal.