Comfort, Expertise, and Family Values at TIMC

1 May 2017 / Best Doctors

How can going to the doctor feel like a trip to see a friend? Well if you’re seeing a doctor at The International Medical Centre (TIMC) near Qatar University / College of North Atlantic (close to West Bay and the Pearl), then you will feel right at home.

Effortless parking, welcoming staff, luxury marble floors, classical music, and the smell of fresh jasmine greets you when you walk in, making it feel like a refreshing house visit to an old friend. The waiting area has comfortable couches that allow you to sink into the music and relax as you wait.

Family Medicine and Paediatrics are the focus of The International Medical Centre’s journey to providing the best possible services to the residents of Qatar. With a team of doctors entirely qualified from the United Kingdom, patients need not worry about a drastic change in the way they receive healthcare in Qatar.

The General Manager of the Centre, Tamara Hasan, praised the doctors and said, “Our doctors have a vast amount of experience – they have trained & worked in leading Western centres for years. This experience & knowledge really helps – we have had a few cases where our doctors have spotted something that even Gynecology or Dermatology specialists have not spotted. These doctors really are fantastic to have at your first point of call for your healthcare needs.”

The International Medical Centre’s doctors are all Consultants in their fields and can address the vast majority of day to day complaints that adults and children have. “Our doctors can help with at least 80% of the symptoms that the patient may present, and the rest will be referred to specialists we trust in Qatar – these are not easy to find. We do the homework so you don’t have to!” added Hasan.

Patient experience is the most thought out plan at TIMC. “When you’re ill, you feel horrible. Nobody wants to go to a Medical Centre, so what we want to do is relax people with a welcoming and sympathetic environment. This won’t feel like going to a big hospital; it is your community clinic where you can see your regular trusted doctor,” said Hasan. The music is aimed to offer a peaceful environment for the patient and calm their anxiety in seeing the doctor. Several studies have shown that music, especially classical, allows the mind to focus on the rhythm and not on a problem being faced; thus, allowing you as a patient or doctor to feel utmost comfort.

Hasan’s dedication to providing the best for the patients oozes out when she discussed how operations at TIMC began. “I sat at the reception desk personally and tried to figure out what most people were asking for and what I felt was needed to make the clinic more comfortable for everyone and we just worked towards improving that.”

An additional highlight is TIMC’s sister clinic, The International Physiotherapy Centre (established in 2015, where TIMC’s journey first began), where many treatments are offered. They offer Physiotherapy (Paediatric and Adult), Chiropractic, Osteopathy, Massage Therapy and Pilates. The approach is the same – high quality practitioners in a patient-centred environment. Hasan added, “all of our therapists have special qualifications and qualities, for example our massage therapist has 18 years’ experience, she does manual lymphatic drainage, helping women post breast cancer to reduce swelling, and she also helps in pregnancy as well as traditional sports massage.”

As Hasan says “We really started this whole journey by focusing on Physiotherapy for chronic back and neck pain and acute musculoskeletal, orthopedic and sports injuries. Over time, we have just responded to what patients need. That led us to expand The International Physiotherapy Centre into new areas, and the culmination is The International Medical Centre, after so many of our Physiotherapy patients who really trust us kept asking us when we would have doctors, as so few of them had a trusted doctor in Qatar.”