DOHA: The Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has suspended indefinitely all non-emergency surgeries that require general anaesthesia due to a shortage of anaesthesia respiratory tubes, a local Arabic daily reported yesterday.
HMC management early this week sent a circular to all its hospitals, citing the shortage of anaesthesia tubes as the reason behind the decision, according to Al Arab. The circular didn’t specify the cause of the shortage, but the daily attributed it to a fire in a warehouse of the HMC in the Industrial Area last month.
The daily said all HMC hospitals had practically stopped all non-emergency surgeries that require general anaesthesia since the beginning of this month. Only surgeries of an emergency nature and those for cancer patients are being performed, it added.
The Hamad General Hospital (HGH) used to conduct 50-70 surgeries daily that belong to the first category, while 50 to 100 were performed at other HMC hospitals, said the daily.
The circular said the HMC expected to procure the required amount of anaesthesia tubes “in a few days.” However, no specific dates have been given for resumption of surgeries.
The circular has asked other HMC hospitals that have stocks of anaesthesia tubes to hand them over to HGH. “We need to keep stocks for emergency surgeries,” the paper said, citing the circular.
HMC had earlier admitted a shortage of covering material for sterilisation equipment, said the daily. HMC until now has not disclosed details of the fire in one of its warehouses in the Industrial Area on July 25.
The Peninsula
