Middle East Healthcare News » Medical Equipment

UAE Health Minister Visits New Medical Complex in Ajman

ICTFH — Thu, 06 May 2010 19:14:40 +0000

UAE Minister of Health, Dr. Hanif Hassan Ali, visited the new medical complex in Ajman in preparation for its opening during the forthcoming period.

The UAE Minister of Health’s work of building and constructing the ministry’s facilities such as the construction, technical and medical equipments is considered as part of institutional cooperation for building a medical integrated system consistent with the strategies and ambitions of the ministry and medical district.

The new complex includes primary healthcare, mother and childhood and schools’ health department. The complex will be officially opened during the forthcoming period to receive more than 800 visitors including expat labors.

In addition, the new complex will represent a vital transition in terms of developing performances and remedial service to the patients. It also contains dental specialist centers and preventive medicine in addition to mother and childhood and schools’ health clinics.

Moreover, the complex includes new treatment technologies in a number of clinics for specialized dental specialists such as the development of the air duct control rooms, central suction, central sterilization rooms.

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The Amiri expansion project of al-Adan Hospital Opened Today

ICTFH — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 12:57:12 +0000

The Amiri expansion project of al-Adan Hospital is opened today with a 240-bed capacity, according to health ministry.

The expansion will contribute in easing pressure on the hospital, as it will be supplied with modern medical equipment, Director of al-Ahmadi Medical Zone Dr. Fahad Al-Fawdari told KUNA.

The project came upon directives of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

Further, the expansions include increase of wards for bone, abdominal and children surgeries, as well as an ICU, he noted.

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First Kuwaiti Health Contractors Conference Get Started

ICTFH — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 19:42:26 +0000

The First Kuwaiti health contractors conference and exhibition opened yesterday at the Movenpick Hotel in the Shuwaikh duty free zone. The conference is hosting a number of local and international specialist health sector contracting companies, in addition to firms which provide the latest innovations in medical equipment and devices.

This conference confirms the seriousness of the Ministry of Health about involving the private sector, represented by local and international companies, in contributing to the implementation of mega projects, beginning with Jaber Hospital and followed by a series of new hospitals,” said Dr Al-Sayer.

The health minister indicated that the ministry aims to increase Intensive Care Units (ICU) bed capacity, and expressed hope that the conference would encourage donors from medical charity projects to take part in enhancing Kuwait’s medical services.

The chairman of the event’s organizing committee Nasser Al-Enezi, explained that the conference aims to increase the role played by the private sector in the implementation of the national development plan.

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Health cover pilot project in 2011

admin — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 18:42:05 +0000

The pilot project of Qatar’s National Health Insurance Scheme is ready for launch by next year. The law is ready and the government is working on the implementation aspect of the Scheme, said Minister of Public Health H E Abdullah bin Khalid Al Qahtani. He also revealed that the country’s first military hospital is under study.

The Minister was talking to a section of media on the sidelines of the 5th Finance & Investment in Qatar Forum here yesterday.

“Health insurance is a risky sector. The launch of the project needs a huge back-up system and a massive network with various stake holders including hospitals, employers and various other agencies. The government is working on that and I hope we could possibly launch the pilot project by next year. It is yet to be decided whether private sector would be a player in the proposed health insurance scheme,” he said.

The Minister said the country’s health care system is on a major revitalisation process. Currently the country’s public health sector has only 1.7 beds for 1000 people. This ratio would go up to 4.4/1000 people in 2013.

With the launch of the Hamad Medical City, the country would have four new hospitals and nursing home for the elderly. The commissioning of Sidra and the launch of the 280-bed military hospital would double the bed capacity of the country’s health sector by the first quarter of 2013.

“Over the last two decades the country’s health care system had witnessed great developments. The health sector has expanded significantly since the country’s first hospital opened is doors more than 50 years ago. The HMC will add two more hospitals in the near future, The Cardiology Centre of Excellence is set to open this summer and Al Wakra general hospital next year,” minister said.

As of now, the minister said, the primary health services are being discharged through 21 health centres. Within the coming five years, at least 8 primary health centres would be launched bringing the primary health care services to the door steps of the people. Tenders would be soon floated for Qatar’s first private-public partnership in the health sector to provide management and medical services for three hospitals, and five primary health centres dedicated to caring for the country’s large labour force.

The Minister said that the fund allocations for the health sector has been recording an exponential growth over the years. The annual budget has gone up from $1bn in 2007 to $2bn in 2010; and the per capita expenditure rose from $851 to $1379 during the same period.

The country’s private medical sector has recently witnessed a remarkable development. More than 300 private clinics and health complexes have come up during the last few years. Four modern private hospitals are now providing high quality health services in the country. “Our laws encourage such investments, be it local or international ones. The government allows 100 per cent foreign ownership in health ventures and income tax exemption for private health care facilities. The government also grant tax exemption for import of medical equipment and for other infrastructure to run health care facilities,” Al Qahtani said.

Qatar has set aside 2.8 per cent of its GDP to medical research. The country is targeting a high quality research aimed at enhancing its quality of health care system.

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Japanese Helps in Establishing Health Clinic in Irbid

ICTFH — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:15:24 +0000

The Government of Japan has decided to aid Taibeh Charity Association with $67,494, in order to purchase medical equipment that will be installed at a health clinic to be opened later this year in Taibeh district.

Japanese Ambassador to Jordan Tetsuo Shioguchi said that over the past decades, his country had extended to Jordan more than JD2 billion, pledging to continue cooperation with the Kingdom.

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RCA Launches Health Centre in Damascus

ICTFH — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:30:19 +0000

The UAE Red Crescent Authority (RCA) has established a charitable health clinic at Hujeira in Damascus to deliver healthcare services to Internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Golan Heights as part of its development projects in health sector.

The RCA is now equipping the health facilities with medical equipment to cover all key health specializations. Mohammed Khalifa Al Qamzi, RCA Secretary General, construction worker of the 286 square metre two-storey centre started in March last year and will house six specialty clinics in addition to a pharmacy and administrative offices. ”The RCA built this charitable health facility as part of its continued humanitarian efforts to ease suffering of those displaced persons in term of health services,”he added.

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Fewer Nationals Seek Medical Specialisations

ICTFH — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:23:41 +0000

There has been a marked decline in the number of UAE nationals seeking in specialisations like medicine, dentistry, pharmacology and health sciences.

In all these branches national under-graduates account for only 50 per cent.

This was stated by Dr Husam Al Din Hamdi, Dean of Faculty of Medicine, University of Sharjah (UoS), in an interview with Khaleej Times.

In medicine, the percentage is 20 per cent nationwide although there were five faculties of medicine, with 150-200 doctors graduating each year.

“We are in desperate need to lift this percentage in order to Emiratise the medical profession,” he added.

Hamdi also said His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, who is also Supreme President of University of Sharjah, is eager to see modern health services made available to people.

He stated that Dr Shaikh Sultan had sanctioned Dh125 million for setting up a state-of-the-art medical research centre. The 7000-square-metre facility will house 17 specialist laboratories.

Dh 75 million were earmarked for acquiring advanced medical equipment.

According to him, Dr Shaikh Sultan has ordered the construction of a 220-bed training hospital.

The university, he added, has entered into partnerships with leading universities in France and Japan for offering Master’s and Ph.D programmes.

“A Dh75 million surgical and clinical training centre will opened by end of January 2010. The centre will have seven simulation clinics on par with those in Europe where students will get virtual training on modern systems brought specially from US, Britain and Germany,” he stated.

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Kuwait Ban Dramol

ICTFH — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 08:16:17 +0000

The Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday a total ban on the sale of ‘Dramol’ in all pharmacies, both in the government and private sectors.

Assistant Undersecretary for medicines and medical equipment Dr. Omar Al-Sayyed Omar said the ban followed laboratory tests that proved the presence of a chemical anti-allergen that was not present in the first batch of the drug, which was approved earlier. He called upon all consumers who used this medicine to stop its consumption in order to be immune from its dangerous side effects, and to wait for further studies and laboratory tests by the pharmaceuticals control department.

The official urged members of the public to call the department for any related questions or queries.

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Fayez And Beecroft Open Renovated Jamil Tutanji Hospital

ICTFH — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 14:23:14 +0000

American Ambassador Stephen Beecroft and Minister of Health Dr Nayef Al-Fayez inaugurated the recently-renovated Jamil Tutanji Hospital in Sahab Thursday, stressing continued American support for Jordan’s efforts to improve the quality of health care services for everyone in the Kingdom.

With assistance from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Jamil Tutanji Hospital’s newly renovated delivery ward, obstetrics and pediatric departments, and operating theater are now equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment and furniture. The renovation, which covers 1,700m², will increase the quality of services provided to the Sahab community in East Amman with the ultimate goal of reducing mortality rates of mothers and newborns. USAID also provided hospital staff with technical support to improve the quality of prenatal care, establish a Safe Motherhood Committee, and implement a perinatal information system to help providers ensure timely delivery of services to women with high risk pregnancies. The total cost of the renovation and equipment provision for Jamil Tutanji Hospital is estimated at $1.1 million.

In his remarks at the inauguration ceremony, Ambassador Beecroft said: “Today we are celebrating a partnership between our two nations that has left a lasting mark and forged friendships and ties between countless Jordanians and Americans.” He added: “This partnership has led to the eradication of many diseases, the improvement of primary and reproductive health services, and the training of health care providers to ensure the highest quality services to their patients. We will continue to support Jordan in its efforts to build a better health care system for all Jordanians especially mothers and children.

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Lying Vacant at Health Ministry Facilities

admin — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 13:42:47 +0000

Over 2,350 posts are lying vacant at the Ministry of Health facilities in all seven emirates, Minister of State for Financial Affairs Obaid Humaid Al Tayer has said.

Addressing the Federal National Council FNC session here on Wednesday, he said sufficient budget for these posts had already been allocated, and “we are working to bring in a new pay scale increasing the salaries of the staff at the ministry”.

Reacting to the minister’s statement, council member Abdul Raheem Shaheen said, “The posts the minister spoke about are at the junior level with low salaries. That is why they are lying vacant.”

Elaborating, Shaheen said, “The Ministry of Health is suffering from two problems. The first is the high attrition rate among medical staff as a result of low salaries. A doctor in an Abu Dhabi government health facility draws an average monthly salary of Dh70,000 and a Dubai government doctor Dh50,000, but in the Ministry of Health, their counterpart gets only Dh13,000.”

The second problem, according to him, is the shortage of medical equipment, food and medicines in the hospitals of the ministry. The ministry is bearing the brunt because its budget has not been increased over the last two years. He said the budget for the ministry for 2010 has also not been increased. This will affect the health situation in the Northern Emirates badly. The number of deaths in these emirates might reach hundreds.

Painting bleak picture of the health facilities in the Northern Emirates, he said many patients would prefer to go to Abu Dhabi and Dubai hospitals.

In reply to Shaheen’s remarks, Al Tayer said, “The fact that 2,350 posts are lying vacant at the ministry has prompted us not to list new posts in the new budget.

“We have allocated Dh867 million for medicines, and the amount is sufficient, and in case the ministry requests additional funds, we will put forward its plea to the cabinet for action.”

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