The Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) launched the “we look after you, wherever you may be” campaign in early October, which aims to promote PHCC’s services and introduce its 27 health centers geographically distributed across the State, introduce all segments of society to all health and awareness services provided by PHCC, in line with global standards, and to establish PHCC’s basic principles and objectives, its vision and mission in transforming the health and well-being of the people of Qatar, by providing person-centered health care, focusing on health and disease prevention, and encouraging healthy lifestyles.

The “we look after you, wherever you may be” campaign was chosen as a slogan to emphasize the role of PHCC in individual and family care everywhere, whether at home, work, school, etc., and the spread of its health centers to cover most regions of the State, distributed in 3 regions: The northern region, 10 health centers; the central region, 7 health centers and the western region, 10 health centers. In addition to its continuous planning to expand existing facilities, establish new health centers to meet all the needs of the community, absorb the increasing numbers, and save clients’ time and effort and facilitate their access to nearby centers.

The Corporate Communications Directorate at PHCC works with other directorates and departments and in full coordination with PHCC’s health centers to promote and introduce this campaign through various visual, audio and print media. In addition to producing short introductory awareness films, disseminating posters in malls and cinemas, and using several promotional channels to reach the largest possible segment of society. That is because the number of people registered in PHCC health centers is more than 1,500,000 and the number of clients who receive treatment is more than 300,000 per month.

Since the establishment of PHCC, in February 2012, and eight years after its establishment, PHCC has improved its health centers services, opened new primary health care facilities, enhanced and delivered eight transformative models of care to meet the greatest health needs of the community, enhance the capacity and competence of the workforce through additional investment, staff development and training. PHCC has also participated in discussions and forums and planning at the level of the health sector in the State, ensuring coherence across different levels of health care, which made PHCC the first and continuing point in the health system in Qatar. PHCC became fully confident that the best way to improve population’s health is to have comprehensive and high-quality primary health care services focused on health, prevention and early detection, where PHCC puts great emphasis on the development of safe, high-quality health, and person-centered services in all its health centers.

With the end of the National Primary Health Care Strategy 2013-2018, it was necessary to reflect on both the achievements and challenges faced by PHCC over the past eight years, which laid a solid foundation for primary care as the first point of contact in the health system. In April 2019, the Corporate Strategic Plan 2019-2023 was launched with six strategic priorities, 20 goals, and 80 strategic activities, to be provided over the next five years. The Plan aims to lead the transformation of the health and well-being of the community in Qatar, as it focuses on providing more comprehensive and integrated services, and transforming healthcare into a proactive and enhanced health services model in the community.

Accordingly, several programs and projects have been launched and delivered, including the Family Medicine model, where the service is now available in all health centers. Furthermore, the Smart Clinic services have been launched in all PHCC health centers. PHCC has also increased the number of clinics for Qatari citizens to improve their access to various primary health care services, delivered the enhanced mental health service, improved postnatal care program, and updated many policies and procedures related to home care services and school health, as well as providing urgent care services in 7 health centers for adults, which will be followed by urgent care for children at a later stage.

With regard to the new health facilities, Al-Ruwais Health and Wellness Center, launched in April 2020, has joined the 27 health centers, including 6 wellness centers, which provide Qatar’s growing population with greater access to our services. In addition to the large number of primary health care services provided at the centers, Al Ruwais Health Center will also provide integrated health-enhancing wellness services, including gyms, swimming pools, massage, steam rooms, saunas, as well as general medicine clinics and specialized clinics equipped with state-of-the-art medical and non-medical equipment.

The year 2020 also witnessed PHCC host the 4th International Primary Health Care Conference in February, which brought together many well-known speakers and experts to share knowledge and best practices through discussion sessions and workshops. Efforts are also being intensified to meet the requirements of Accreditation Canada International in order to maintain the Diamond level of the third cycle scheduled for November 2020.

Despite the challenges Qatar has faced since June 2017, PHCC has been keen to translate the wise guidance of HH the Amir of Qatar into action, as PHCC, like other government agencies, has ensured that the unjust blockade on Qatar does not affect the services provided in any of its health facilities, and the health centers continue to operate normally, demonstrating the effectiveness of the long-term national plans and strategies that have enabled PHCC to respond to any emergency circumstances. Additionally, in collaboration with our partners in the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), PHCC's needs for medication and medical supplies have been maintained within regular limits, and health centers have continued to receive their scheduled needs periodically without being affected.

These wise guidance has also proved effective in the proactive response to the COVID-19 pandemic, where many changes have been made to our services to protect our community and ensure access to basic health care services in a safe environment in parallel with PHCC's involvement in the State's efforts to combat this pandemic.

We are proud of the early actions taken to protect the health of our workers and communities that will remain at the top of our priorities as we continue to reduce daily infection rates and start returning to normal life.

In the next five years, PHCC will focus on transforming the way in which care is provided, with the new National Health Strategy calling for better collaboration across the entire sector and improved access to more comprehensive services in the community.