Dubai to unveil ME’s 1st complete childcare centre in 2014

posted on 19/10/2011: 111 views

The Gulf region's first super-speciality and multi-spectrum paediatric care facility — Al Jalila Children's Speciality Hospital — is set to be functional within the Al Wasl Hospital complex in Dubai by the beginning of 2014.

Al Jalila Bint Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Hospital was ordered to be built by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai as a gift to the children of the UAE.

The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) officials on Tuesday said that the 200-bed paediatric hospital, sprawling over 100,000 square metres of space, will cater to children right from birth up to 14 years of age and in some cases up to 16 years of age. The facility, featuring sustainability elements which would speed up patient recovery, is envisaged to provide all UAE residents as well as patients from the region easy access to world-class paediatric care.

The second phase of the hospital's construction, at a cost of Dhs673 million, has already commenced.

Qadhi Saeed Al Murooshid, director-general of the DHA, said the modern healthcare infrastructure, which has been designed to be child-friendly, thus transcending the traditional concept of medical structures, addresses the requirements of the entire spectrum of the UAE society. "The hospital will have several centres of excellence dedicated to neonatal care, cardiology, nephrology, neurology, cancer care and mental health, among other specialities,” he added.

The hospital will also be equipped with a dedicated helipad that will be directly connected with the emergency department to accommodate any type of paediatric emergency, excluding road traffic accidents,” he elaborated. "Al Jalila Paediatric Care Centre's construction aspects are integrated with the healing processes. Nearly half of the total area has been earmarked for gardens and landscaping including a ‘healing garden' with bright-coloured flowering shrubs, herbs and medical plants,” Al Murooshid added.

According to him, the facility will redefine paediatric care in the UAE and the wider region. It will open a new chapter reaffirming Dubai's pre-eminent position as the region's healthcare hub.

The DHA's deputy director general Khalid Al Sheikh Mubarak explained the hospital will have 40 intensive care units, six dialysis facilities, 20 healing centres, 12 training rooms, eight operating theatres, and 30 clinical and non-clinical departments. "The facility also will feature over 3,750 biomedical equipment and fixtures, and a multipurpose activities room for children, among others. Well-connected departments, single bedrooms and a family-centred approach set the hospital apart,” he said.

Builders of the hospital, Al Futtaim Carillion's managing director Simon Webb, said, "The 4-storey facility surface spans over 55,000 square metres, with a total built-up area of 76,500 square metres.” "Our focus is on creating a world-class quality structure, which would be aesthetic, appealing and eco-friendly to help ailing children recover quickly,” he added.

Dr Mohammad Al Olama, CEO of Hospital Services Sector at the DHA, said: "Once completed the hospital will be an advanced medical facility that will attract ‘medical tourism' to the Emirate and will help improve the level and quality of healthcare services for children.”

"The other key facilities at the hospital are imaging and radiology, nuclear medicine, an advanced clinical laboratory, emergency and out-patient departments, operating theatres, neonatal intensive care unit, burn unit, endoscopy facilities, rehabilitation services, pharmacy and several other specialities,” he concluded.

Al Jalila Children's Speciality Hospital has won the ‘Future Health Projects' award out of all 210 entries that were submitted from across the globe at the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona last year, as well as the best sustainable hospital project award at the Hospital Build Conference this year. – The Gulf Today

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