Medcare gears up for a busy 2017

Dubai - It will launch multi-specialty hospitals in Sharjah, Qatar early next year

Medcare has some exciting projects in the pipeline for next year and will launch its multi-specialty hospital in Sharjah in the beginning of 2017, said Alisha Moopen, executive director and CEO of Hospitals and Clinics, GCC, at Aster DM Healthcare, on the sidelines of opening the Women and Children Hospital where women comprise almost 90 per cent of its 500-strong staff.

"We also have a new hospital coming up in Qatar in early 2017. For us, it is always about raising the bar of healthcare and complementing the vision of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make communities healthy and happy," she said.

With its vision to develop world-class healthcare infrastructure, expertise and services, the UAE government is expanding and upgrading its healthcare systems to match international standards. The UAE accounts for 26 per cent of the total healthcare spend by GCC governments and the per capita healthcare spending in the UAE was $1,569 in 2013, the second highest in the GCC, according to Alpen Capital research.

The healthcare market in the UAE is projected to be worth $19.5 billion in 2020, indicating an annual average growth of 12.7 per cent from 2015 and is marginally higher than the GCC growth average.

Medcare caters to the premium segment of the Dubai and UAE population. The brand has completed close to a decade in the UAE.

Moopen said: "As women, we believe in the strength of women together. We believe that by dedicating this hospital to the women of the world, Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, wife of Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has helped us create bigger dreams and goals to conquer in healthcare and work towards our relentless pursuit of good health and happiness."

The Women and Children Hospital is the third hospital under the Medcare brand while the fourth one is scheduled to open in Sharjah next year. The brand has a network of 13 clinics.

"Medcare, being one of Dubai Health Experience's strategic partners, is aiming to develop and build on centres of excellence such as in orthopaedics, plastic surgery, bariatrics and ophthalmology to name a few. There is a demand and need for more specialist care within some of these departments and we hope that we will be able to fulfil some of these requirements," added Moopen.

- sandhya@khaleejtimes.com