Manama: Children in Qatar must be accompanied by a parent, and not the family driver or helper, in situations when they require emergency medical attention, a senior health official said.
Dr Mohammad Al Amri, assistant director of Paediatric Emergency at Hamad Medical Corporation in Doha, said that the new rule was decided after it came to the notice of medical services that several children were being brought in by drivers and domestic helpers and that the parents failed to show up.
Al Amri said that the rule, which is to come into effect starting from April 1, is aimed at dealing with negative attitudes among parents who don’t even accompany their children to medical facilities, local daily Al Raya reported on Sunday.
Doctors are at times baffled by the absence of parents when they seek specific answers about children admitted for treatment at hospitals — including their medical history and possible allergies — but fail to get suitable answers from the drivers or the helpers, the official said. In many cases, doctors have no option but to delay treatment of young patients until they have the required information to proceed with targeted medical intervention.
The new rule does not mean that the emergency services will ask children brought for treatment to return home without being examined, since that would be highly unethical, Al Amri said.
Emergency cases that require prompt intervention will be treated without delays, but the other situations will be handled differently, he said. A preliminary check-up will be carried out to ensure the patient is stable, but the treatment in such cases will only start when a parent shows up, he added.
Mothers and fathers should be more careful about their children’s health and should not gloss over the significance of accompanying them to health centres, medical facilities and emergency departments, the official said.
The physical presence of parents who are familiar with the medical history and allergic conditions of their children is crucial during medical check-ups and treatment, he added.
