DOHA: Licensing of health care practitioners not only in the private sector but also in the government hospitals will be brought under a single body, with establishment of the Qatar Council for Health Practitioners (QCHP), a senior official of the Supreme Council of Health (SCH) said yesterday.
The QCHP that recently got the Cabinet nod will replace the Medical Licensing Department (MLD) at SCH that is currently responsible for issuing licences to all private health care practitioners and facilities in the country.
The new Council will be bestowed with powers to license and monitor all the health care practitioners, both in the private and public sectors, Dr Jamal Rashid Al Khanji, director of the Health Care Quality Management Department at SCH told The Peninsula.
Currently the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) that runs all the major public hospitals in the country has its own licensing system for its doctors and other health care practitioners.
"This would continue for a while, but licensing of all health care practitioners will be brought under a single body once the QCHP becomes fully functional. No health care facility, in the private or public sector will be allowed to appoint any practitioner before being licensed by the Council," he added.
He said licensing of the private health care facilities and the practitioners would be separated after the Council is officially established.
The Quality Management Department will be the regulatory body for issuing licences to both the segments, but the Council will be solely responsible for monitoring and licensing the practitioners.
"The task of the Council is not only to issue licences but to improve the performance and competence of all the health care practitioners through education and training programmes. The Council will also look into complaints about health care practitioners both in the private and public sectors," said the official.
The licensing rules and procedures are currently being reviewed to make them more flexible on the one hand and to enable more effective monitoring of the health care practitioners on the other hand, he added.
"There may be a relaxation of certain rules in favour of the private facilities and practitioners. For instance, there is a proposal to extend the validity of the licences issued to practitioners working in some segments from one year to two years. However, there will be no compromise on the quality and standards of the health care profession or the service," said Al Khanji.
© The Peninsula 2011
