PHCC Calls for Promoting Elderly Mental, Physical Health, Avoiding Heart Harmful Behaviors

Primary Health Care Corporation

 

The Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) called for promoting the mental and physical health of the elderly and ensuring their protection from exposure to diseases and COVID-19 infection by avoiding family gatherings and visits, maintaining a safe distance and avoiding physical contact with them such as shaking hands, as well as taking into account the psychological and mental changes they are going through, stressing the need to integrate the elderly into the family and society.

PHCC said that it has taken all measures, means and ways to preserve the health of the heart, stressing that early, rapid and timely diagnosis and medical intervention, and changing wrong behaviors, save the life of the patient with heart disease and avoids complications resulting from delays in treatment.

Director of the Home Health Care Department at PHCC Dr. Ashraf Helmy pointed out the importance of nutritional regulation for the elderly, by regularly eating healthy balanced meals to meet their needs of the important nutrients such as vitamins and minerals while making sure that they practice simple exercises that greatly help prevent diseases and avoid joint pain and rheumatism, as well as getting enough sleep and rest, and attention to their mental health, which in turn supports their physical health.

On the occasion of the International Day of Older Persons, he called on caregivers for the elderly, their children and families, to provide more care and protection for this category, stressing that love and kindness are more important for the elderly than food and medicine, in addition to making sure to integrate them into their family and social surroundings and entertain them at all times and not only on occasions.

He stated that the Home Health Care Department at PHCC annually celebrates the International Day of Older Persons, which falls on the first of October every year, through several activities that enhance their integration into society and their participation in community activities.

For her part, the Manager of Leabaib Health Center Dr. Muna Al Saadi affirmed that the PHCC has taken all measures, means and ways to preserve heart health, noting that heart diseases are of particular importance in terms of the possibility of preventing them to a large extent, by following healthy lifestyles, and cautioned that 80 percent of deaths caused by heart disease can be avoided by staying away from smoking, exercising regularly, eating healthy and losing weight.

She indicated that the Corporation's celebration of World Heart Day on Sept. 29th every year is an opportunity to educate people about the need to change behaviors that are harmful to the heart and follow the beneficial ones, explaining that chronic diseases, especially diabetes and high blood pressure, are important factors that cause cardiovascular diseases. She added that early and quick diagnosis and medical intervention by changing wrong behaviors in a timely manner saves the patient's life and avoids complications resulting from delay in treatment.

She stressed that the PHCC has given special care to chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure, and in this regard, it has appointed medical competencies from around the world as consultants and specialists in family medicine to provide high-level care by following the latest and most efficient international protocols, as well as providing this service through the family doctor system, which follows up and provides an integrated and continuous service.

Regarding early diagnosis and treatment, the number of health centers has been increased in recent years, in addition to preparing a number of others to open in the coming period so that these centers are spread all over Qatar and to be close to every home. Work has also been extended in many centers for 24 hours to deal with any emergency.

She stated that heart clinics have been established within some health centers, which is an important qualitative leap, in cooperation with Hamad Medical Corporation to provide an integrated community heart service and facilitate access to heart patients with stable conditions, while the number of these clinics is being expanded, and provided with the required diagnostic equipment and devices. In this regard, echocardiography devices have recently been provided in a number of these centers. (QNA)