Health card/hospital

That's useful info. Thanks for that. You do not list electricity bill on your list. I hope that this is not required as I just pay the bill through the landlord. The electrcity is his name.

for applying for a brand new haelth card..u will require the xerox copies of teh following documents and a form to be filled up..

1. passport copy

2. id copy

3. old health card if possible

4. non refundable amount of 100 riyals yearly fees.

5. Blood group certificate

6. passport photos

no idea if anything additional si required

The place is rumailah hospital near to the mannai round about. or if easy u can go to wakrah governmet hospital.

find out your healthcentre of your lcoality, and apply for the health card, the receipt they issue you is good enough to get treatment.this can be done in one day, u need to have your electricity bill with you,passport copies, 2photos.i think they register you at the health centre and then process your health card

also take the evening clinics at hamad, theyc harge 100 for each appointmetn, but its good and you get to see a specialist since only specialists can have evening clinics, so i have been told.u get the appointments in 2 days time, or maybe a week later, day appointments run uptil 2 months or more. i have been taking the evening option, suits me fine.

moreoever its not necessary that all should have a bad experience at hamad, alhamdullilah it has never happened to me, so insha'allah it wont happen to you. i have always felt if a goof up has to take place it can happen anywhere.

if you really need to check your ears out urgently you can check with a Dr. Nazar Moopen,ent spec. at rafa polyclinic, opposite homecentre, near jaidah flyover. i have been to him and i felt he was good.

take care.......all the best

your experience at HMC sounds awful...you said you were pregnant right?

Now, if possible avoid giving birth at HMC. The midwife lunatic I had tried to put an entire tube of AIR in my IV--I am sure you already now that even a tiny air bubble is quite lethal or in the very least can cause a stroke. Anywho, thank God the machine turned off, due to sensitivty settings that are set by the manufacturers for the safety of the patient. I remember telling the midwife that there were little air bubbles going into the the vein before that incident, she told me just to go to sleep as she was having a chat with her colleague.

Later on, I woke and heard these alarms coming from the machine and then I realized she was removing the IV tubing and When I realized how much air was in the tubing I couldn't believe she attatched it to me in the first place!

When I was studying in health care honest to goodness not puting air in veins or arteries was a substantial basic that was stressed over and over again--the midwife was from Tunisia--so either she faked her credentials or Tunisia is one place not to get sick.

I would like to submit a formal complaint, because peoples' live are seriously at risk here, but to who? Really, anytime I asked any question at all I was told to shut-up and go to sleep and then have the staff warn each other in Arabic (which is a language I do speak) that I ask to many questions. So, I was thinking how am I going to relay the seriousness of this issue if no one will listen to me!!

Why not look at private insurance for your time here? We received an email from Doha Bank a few months back. From memory I think it was 35 riyals a month and you get Private Health Care.

Hamad is an administrative nightmare. But as previously mentioned, once you get through all the admin ... doctors and specialists are generally very good.

Good Luck ... hope your hearing comes back soon.

Oh yes, I remember being referred to Hamad Emergency and they wouldn't see me as I couldn't produce a marriage certifice (it wasn't a pregnancy issue either) I had travelled 1 hour to get there. They eventually saw me and kept my health care card hostage until I could produce the marriage certificate.

I mean they have all our info on their computers ... how on earth did we get the health care card in the first place???? I had an Residency ID card, drivers license ... but no.... not enough!! argghhhhhhhhhh

Andy, you're in a spot of trouble mate!

I had a brain seizure just over a month ago and was taken by ambulance to the HMC emergency room. Can't remember much about what happened but when finally did come to, I was amazed at the level of care that I had received from the folks in the emergency room. Brilliant doctors, exceptionally brilliant nurses! And all of this without a health card!

Now comes the fun part, the doc at the mergency room was only able to give me enough meds for 10 days which means I had to go back to HMC for a neuro appointment to get a presciption refill. They gave me an appointment for November 10th...I was ill in August! Tried going the private hospital route, got told by a doctor at Doha Clinic that they can't give me the meds that I need as it was highly controlled by HMC!

Tried to go back to HMC Emergency to get the meds refilled, got the run-around of my life and after much begging and pleading and listening to an arrogant pakistani 'doctor' got another 10 day refill.

Now I tried to get a health card, got told to come back tomorrow, the same thing again the next day and the next for a whole week. Finally I go back there again next week, get told, "We can't help you. You need to apply for your whole family at once" I try to explain that my family's passports are with the immigration authorities for their visas to be renewed. The illiterate morons working at the health centre would hear none of it. Leave without the health card, thinking 'you all can go f**k yourselves HMC"

Finally found out that HMC has a private evening clinic, made an appointment there, saw a really good neuro and got new meds, mind you it cost QR1500.00 because I didn't have a health card! (With health card cost QR163.00)

My family's passports finally got back from immigration, went back to the idiots working at Mansoura health centre, guess what else they want to know besides the info on the forms..."What is your mother's name and your wife's mother's name"...What in God's name do they need this info for to issue you with a health card??

Finally Andy, you will need two passport sized pics, copies of your ID and passport, a recent electricity bill and an application form which you get from a health centre closest to your home. Keep in mind that you won't help you if your electric bill shows you live in an area not covered by that specific health centre. You should also apply for your family as well as they won't take your application if your family members don't have health cards themselves.

But beware, after going through all of the pain of getting the health card, they'll give you an appointment two months down the line just to see a doc. I suggest you go to the Private Evening clinic to get a faster appointment, it costs QR100. Let me know if you need the contact numbers.

Hope this helps, good luck!