Doha, Qatar: In a significant move, mental health services have been incorporated in emergency and urgent care provided at public health facilities in the country.

Information about mental health support services has been included in the recently launched national awareness campaign to raise awareness of emergency and urgent healthcare services in Qatar.

The campaign ‘Where For Your Care?’ under the slogan ‘Make the best choice for your emergency and urgent medical care needs’ was launched by Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC), Sidra Medicine, and Qatar Red Crescent (QRC) and will run until end of February.

The new website (whereforyourcare.qa) which was launched as part of the campaign providing details about emergency and urgent care service options and advice on when and how to access them has separate section about mental health support services.

The website has four separate sections on life threatening emergency, non life threatening medical emergency, urgent care and mental health support. It is considered an online resource provides all the information patients need to choose the correct service for their needs.

Also awareness messages posted on social media platforms of the Ministry and HMC have shared details about accessing mental health helpline and services.

It says ‘Don’t be afraid to ask for help’ adding that anyone in psychological distress or feel having a mental health crisis, irrespective of the level, to call the helpline (16000) immediately to access emergency and urgent care.

The helpline is open Saturday to Thursday, 8am to 6pm. For mental health support out with these hours that cannot wait, people are advised to visit any emergency department. To access the services public can call l 16000 select the language (Arabic or English), and press 4 for mental health. The helpline is staffed by a team of mental health professionals who can speak several languages.

Qatar set the improvement of mental health and well-being as one of its seven main priority areas for the National Health Strategy 2018-2022 and has made an enormous progress in improving access to services, reducing stigma and developing integrated services across the system.

The National Mental Health helpline launched in April 2020 through the Qatar Healthcare Unified Contact Centre at 16000, has had a significant impact.

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