Sidra psychiatry department bags prestigious WPA designation
Sidra Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry has been designated as a Collaborating Center of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) for child and adolescent psychiatry and in maternal and perinatal mental health.
The WPA represents 145 psychiatric societies in 121 countries and promotes collaborative work in psychiatry. WPA collaborating centres are institutions that have national, regional and international recognition as leaders in clinical care, research and teaching.
WPA president Prof Afzal Javed hoped that the expertise from Sidra Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry will complement the WPA agenda of improving global mental health while also spearheading the efforts to improve the standards of mental healthcare.
“I am confident they will achieve this by advocacy and incorporating international guidelines for early identification and timely care to women, children and families in Qatar.”
Sidra Medicine now joins the ranks as one of the eight WPA Collaborating Centers around the world, and the only one designated especially for women and children. It will partner with the WPA on a number of initiatives including policymaking and advocacy, aiming to improve the care of women, children and families.
Professor Mohamed Waqar
The collaboration with WPA will help improve the psychiatric care of children, adolescents and women in Qatar as well as at a regional level
Azeem, inaugural chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Sidra Medicine said the WPA has recognised and honoured Sidra Medicine’s reputation in advancing cutting-edge research and healthcare and work in advocacy, academia and the mental health care. I would also like to acknowledge the vital contributions of Dr Felice Watt, Dr Ahsan Nazeer, and Dr Omar Mahmood, and their teams in making this designation possible for Sidra Medicine.”
“The collaboration with WPA will help improve the psychiatric care of children, adolescents and women in Qatar as well as at a regional level. Sidra Medicine is the world’s first and only Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education International (ACGME-I),” continued Prof Azeem.
Sidra Medicine CEO Dr Barbro Friden described the organisation’s child and adolescent psychiatry and maternal and perinatal mental health divisions as top tier services in Qatar.
“It is a huge honour for the Department of Psychiatry at our organisation to be recognised globally as a WPA Collaborating Center for children and women’s mental health. This is very much aligned with our organisation’s vision of being the beacon of learning, discovery and exceptional care, ranked among the top academic medical centres in the world.”