By Fazeena Saleem
DOHA: Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has set up a temporary polyclinic at the City Center to provide advice, health checks and tests for cardiovascular diseases.
The polyclinic, opened yesterday as part of the ‘Kulluna for a Healthy Heart’ campaign aimed at promoting cardiac health and combating heart disease in the country, will be open until June 28 on the second floor of the City Centre. It is the second phase of the national health and safety campaign, Kulluna.
The temporary facility was inaugurated by Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani with Chairman of the Kulluna campaign Dr Khalid Abdulnoor Saifeldeen, CEO of Heart Hospital Dr Lionel Jarvis and other officials.
Booths at the polyclinic focus on different methods of prevention of heart diseases and educates people on healthy lifestyle and risk factors such as smoking, obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes.
Eight booths: ‘Don’t smoke, Quit Smoking Now,’ ‘Healthy Eating,’ ‘Be Fit,’ ‘Ask the Doctor,’ ‘ECG,’ Echo Room,’ ‘CPR/AED (first aid),’ ‘Ask the Pharmacist’ and ‘Know Your Numbers’ are operational at the polyclinic with over 50 physicians, nurses and technicians.
People at a risk of developing cardiovascular diseases will be directed to the HMC for further treatment.
A survey conducted under the supervision of the Supreme Council of Health (SCH) last year has found that nearly half of the Qatari population has three out of five of the risk factors that can lead to lifestyle diseases.
According to the survey findings obesity is at a very high rate among the population with 70 percent overweight, out of whom 41.4 percent are obese while 16.4 percent smoke. Nearly 45.9 percent are found to have low physical activity, with women as the most sedentary with 54 percent against 37 percent men.
“Prevention of diseases is better than treatment. People in Qatar should start with prevention. Here we encourage healthy lifestyle for everyone,” said Dr Jarvis speaking to The Peninsula yesterday.
He encouraged everyone, even children to visit the polyclinic and learn healthy life style methods.
“A healthy life style could be started at any age. Children should be targeted at a very young age then it will be easy to prevent diseases,” Dr Jarvis said.
Launched in 2012, Kulluna is a five-year national campaign to improve health and safety in Qatar and is sponsored by ConocoPhillips. The first part of the campaign, ‘Keep Us Safe’ was dedicated to children’s safety.
The Peninsula
