Guides / Health / Dental, mental health & medicines
Care for older parents in Qatar: Ehsan clubs, health care at home and visiting parents
What support older people in Qatar can actually use: Ehsan day clubs (open to residents aged 60 and over), PHCC and Hamad geriatric services, who gets free home care and who needs a private nurse, medicine delivery, and how to plan safe visits for elderly parents.
Last reviewed: 13 October 2026
- Ehsan clubs
- Open to Qataris and residents aged 60+ with a valid residence permit; not to visitors
- PHCC home care
- Qatari citizens aged 60+ only
- Hamad home healthcare
- By referral from a hospital team, usually before discharge
- Visiting parents
- Mandatory visitor insurance from QAR 50 a month, emergencies only
Many families in Qatar care for an older parent, either one who lives here or one who comes for long visits. Qatar has good public services for older people, but some of them are only for Qatari citizens, and families often find this out at the worst moment. This guide sorts out what is open to everyone, what is open to residents only, and what is for citizens only. Start by making sure your parent can use public health care, then use the PHCC family doctor as the front door to Hamad's geriatric services, add home support (public where eligible, private where not), and plan visits with the right insurance and airport help. Rules on visas and health insurance have their own guides, which are linked below.
Before you start
- Your parent's QID (for residents) or passport and visa (for visitors)
- A list of every medicine, dose and diagnosis, ideally a recent report from their home doctor in English or Arabic
- A short medical report confirming their condition is stable, if they want to join an Ehsan club
- Your parent's health insurance policy and the insurer's 24-hour number (visitors and privately insured residents)
- Their PHCC health centre name and its WhatsApp or phone number
- Your home address and national address details, for home visits and medicine delivery
- The airline booking reference, if they will need a wheelchair or help at the airport
- Emergency contacts written down at home where a carer can see them
Step by step
Make sure your parent can use public health care
A parent who lives in Qatar on a residence permit uses public health care with their QID, after the annual public health registration is paid. Check this first, because without it every PHCC or Hamad visit is charged at the full rate. A parent here on a visit visa is not registered with PHCC; they rely on their visitor insurance, private clinics, or an emergency department in an emergency. Knowing which group your parent is in decides almost everything else in this guide.
Read guide: Get your health card (now linked to your QID) →Start with the PHCC family doctor
For residents, the local PHCC health centre is the front door. Book through 107 or at the centre, and ask the doctor for a full review of medicines, blood pressure, sugar, eyesight, hearing and falls risk. PHCC runs integrated care clinics for people aged 60 and over, developed with Hamad, at Al Wajba, Rawdat Al Khail, Leabaib, Qatar University and Al Mashaf health centres. They check memory, mood, mobility, nutrition, vision and hearing in one visit. These clinics invite or accept referrals of registered patients, so ask your family doctor whether your parent can be referred.
Keep vaccines up to date
Older people are at the greatest risk from winter infections. The seasonal flu vaccine is free at PHCC health centres every year. Since September 2025 the shingles vaccine is part of the national programme for adults over 50, given as two doses two to six months apart, at any PHCC centre with no appointment needed. PHCC also lists pneumococcal and RSV vaccines; ask the nurse which ones your parent qualifies for and whether there is a charge.
Ask for a Hamad geriatric referral when needed
Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) runs geriatric outpatient clinics across its hospitals, with the main senior care centre at Rumailah Hospital. Services include a falls prevention clinic, wellness, psychology and nutrition clinics, care after hip fractures, and an Elderly Urgent Care Unit at Rumailah for urgent problems that are not life-threatening (appointments 3325 3128 or 5519 3240). Most outpatient clinics need a referral, usually from your PHCC doctor. If memory is the worry, families can call HMC's RAHA dementia helpline on 4026 2222, Sunday to Thursday, 7am to 3pm.
Know who gets free home care
PHCC's Home Health Care service is for Qatari citizens aged 60 and over who are housebound, after a PHCC doctor's referral, so expat parents are not eligible. Hamad's Home Healthcare service is separate: it takes referrals from Hamad hospitals and other facilities, for patients of all ages, for things like wound care, injections, physiotherapy and nursing for chronic illness. If your parent is in a Hamad hospital, ask the ward team before discharge whether a home healthcare referral is suitable. Eligibility is a clinical decision, so it is not guaranteed.
Get medicines delivered
Hamad and PHCC can deliver repeat medicines to your home through Qatar Post, which helps when a parent cannot queue at a pharmacy. For Hamad prescriptions call 16000, Sunday to Thursday, 8am to 2pm; for PHCC, contact your health centre's number or WhatsApp listed on the PHCC website, or call 16000 for information. As reported in January 2025, the delivery fee is QAR 30 and items arrive within two days. Have the patient's QID, a payment card and your full address ready.
Hire private home nursing the safe way
If your parent is not eligible for public home care, or needs more hours, use a private home healthcare provider licensed by the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH). Since 2023 MOPH also licenses individual nurses who are sponsored by a family and work only for that patient; they must hold a recognised nursing qualification and pass the MOPH licensing exam. Before agreeing, ask for the facility licence or the nurse's MOPH licence and check what is included per visit or per shift. A domestic worker or untrained carer can help with daily tasks, but injections, wound dressing and medical care should be done by a licensed professional.
Read guide: Hiring a domestic worker in Qatar: visa, contract and rights →Join an Ehsan day club
Ehsan, the Centre for Empowerment and Elderly Care under the Qatar Foundation for Social Work, runs day clubs with sports, health talks, crafts, Quran classes, courses and trips. Membership is for people aged 60 and over, citizens or expatriates with a valid residence permit, so a visiting parent cannot join. Applicants need a medical report showing their condition is stable and does not need direct medical supervision. There are women's clubs in Izghawa, Old Souq Al Wakra (8am to 12pm on working days) and Al Shamal, plus a men's club; apply on Ehsan's website or at a club. Ehsan also offers counselling and guidance for families caring for an older relative, so ask what is available when you register.
Plan a visit by elderly parents
Most parents come on a family visit visa that you apply for in Metrash. Every visitor who needs a visa must buy health insurance from an MOPH-approved insurer for the whole stay before the visa is issued; the basic plan is QAR 50 a month and covers emergencies and accidents only. That means check-ups and treatment for diabetes, heart or kidney conditions are not covered, so bring enough medicine with prescriptions and consider a top-up policy. If the visit is extended, buy new cover that starts the day after the old policy ends.
Read guide: Invite family on a visit visa →Book airport assistance in advance
Ask the airline for special assistance when you book, or as early as possible before travel; the airline arranges a helper through check-in, passport control, security, baggage claim and customs at Hamad International Airport. Free wheelchairs are also available across the terminal at information desks. If your parent has dementia or another hidden condition, they can wear the Sunflower lanyard, which tells staff they may need more time or help. Assistance passengers usually board first and leave the aircraft last, so plan pick-up times around that.
If your parent wants to live in Qatar
Sponsoring parents on residence is possible only by exception with Ministry of Interior approval, so it is not a routine application. Some older people stay on their own work permit past 60, or on a property residence permit, which is residence only. Read the working-over-60 guide before your parent's own residence ends, because the grace period starts when it is cancelled. Many families find repeated visit visas simpler.
Read guide: Working in Qatar after 60: renewals, approvals and your options →Prepare for emergencies
Call 999 for an ambulance in any emergency; Hamad's emergency departments treat everyone first and deal with billing later. Keep your parent's QID or passport, insurance card and medicine list in one place by the door. Show any live-in helper how to call 999 and how to give your address. For a parent with a disability, see the disability services guide for the parking permit, rehabilitation and support societies.
Read guide: Emergencies in Qatar: who to call and where to go →
What it costs
| Visitor health insurance, basic plan (emergencies and accidents only) | QAR 50 per month |
| Annual public health registration for most residents | QAR 100 |
| Medicine home delivery by Qatar Post (Hamad or PHCC, Jan 2025) | QAR 30 per delivery |
| Seasonal flu vaccine at PHCC | QAR 0 (free) |
Official fees at the time of review. Fees change, so confirm before paying.
Common mistakes
- Assuming a visiting parent can walk into a PHCC health centre. PHCC serves registered residents; visitors use their insurance, private clinics or an emergency department.
- Relying on the QAR 50 visitor plan for a parent with a long-term condition. It covers emergencies and accidents, not routine treatment or check-ups.
- Waiting for PHCC home care for an expat parent. That service is for Qatari citizens aged 60 and over.
- Leaving hospital without asking about a Hamad home healthcare referral. The ward team is the one that refers.
- Hiring a 'nurse' through a social media advert without checking the MOPH licence.
- Applying to an Ehsan club for a parent on a visit visa. Membership needs a valid residence permit.
- Booking flights without requesting a wheelchair or assistance from the airline in advance.
Questions people ask
Can my expat mother join Ehsan?
Yes, if she is 60 or over and holds a valid Qatar residence permit. Ehsan's day club membership is open to citizens and expatriate residents, with a medical report showing her condition is stable. A parent on a visit visa does not qualify.
Will PHCC send a nurse home for my elderly father?
Only if he is a Qatari citizen aged 60 or over and housebound. For expat parents, the public option is Hamad's Home Healthcare service, which takes referrals from Hamad hospitals and other facilities based on medical need. Otherwise use a private MOPH-licensed home healthcare provider or nurse.
Is there an old age home or nursing home in Qatar for expats?
Hamad runs long-term care units at Rumailah Hospital, the Enaya and Daam specialized care centres and a residential care compound, but places are decided by Hamad's clinical teams, usually after a hospital stay, not by direct application. In 2020 Ehsan moved the elderly people in its inpatient care to Hamad, and its focus today is clubs and empowerment programmes. Most expat families use home nursing in Qatar or arrange care in their home country.
My parents are visiting and my father has diabetes. Will the visitor insurance cover him?
The basic QAR 50 a month plan covers emergencies and accidents only, so routine diabetes care, check-ups and medicine refills are not covered. Bring enough medicine for the whole stay with prescriptions, and ask approved insurers about top-up plans. In a real emergency, call 999.
Is there an age limit for parents on a visit visa?
No age limit for visitors is published. The visa still needs the mandatory visitor health insurance for the full stay. Check the current rules in the family visit visa guide before applying.
Where can I get help for a parent with memory problems?
Start with the PHCC family doctor, who can refer to a memory or integrated care clinic or to Hamad's geriatric services. Hamad's RAHA helpline on 4026 2222 (Sunday to Thursday, 7am to 3pm) gives advice to people with memory concerns and their families. Hamad also runs a dementia support and caregiver programme.
Can I sponsor my parents to live with me in Qatar?
Only by exception. The residency law allows it with ministerial approval when it is judged reasonable, so approval is never certain. Your salary, housing and health cover all matter. Most families use family visit visas instead.
How do I check that a home nurse is licensed?
Ask the agency for its MOPH facility licence, or ask an individual nurse for their MOPH licence. Since 2023 nurses who are not attached to a facility can be licensed only to care for the patient and family who sponsor them, after passing the MOPH exam. If they cannot show a licence, do not let them give injections or medical care.
Official sources
- Gulf Times: Ehsan resumes day clubs, membership open to residents 60+ (Sep 2025) ↗
- The Peninsula: Ehsan women's club opens in Old Souq Al Wakra (Sep 2025) ↗
- Hamad Medical Corporation: Senior Citizen Care Services ↗
- PHCC: Home Health Care service ↗
- The Peninsula: medicine home delivery service (Jan 2025) ↗
- Hamad International Airport: special assistance ↗
Always check the official source before acting. QatarSteps is independent and not a government website.