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Aster group to roll out three hospitals by 2017

More than 2,000 jobs will be created as a result of a number of expansion projects being carried out by Aster DM Healthcare.

Healthcare employment is set to boom in the UAE over the next three years following the roll-out of three brand new hospitals in the country, including a specialist Women and Children’s facility.

More than 2,000 jobs will be created by 2017 as a result of a number of expansion projects being carried out by Aster DM Healthcare, and during a chat with Khaleej Times on Wednesday, Director of the organisation, Alisha Moopen, hinted at the possibility of robotic surgery being used in the region for the first time too.

“At our new facility in Kerala, we’re going to be bringing in doctors from the US, on a monthly basis, to perform robotic surgeries. The travel route makes it very easy for these doctors to stop off in Dubai, so we’re looking into this.”

Keen to bring in these specialist surgeons to their hospitals and clinics here, Moopen said space and patient need are the main obstacles halting the facilitation of this type of service.

“Our biggest facility right now is our Medcare hospital, but there is not enough space there at the moment. Once the expansion projects near completion, things can be moved around, in turn creating more space,” she said, adding that robotic surgery could be up and running in the UAE within the next three years.

Challenged about the financial medical strains facing lower income workers, and asked whether Aster DM Healthcare were doing anything to campaign for lower patient costs, Moopen said the organisation has always been keen to lead the way in regards to affordable healthcare.

Referring to the recent implementation of mandatory healthcare insurance for all residents by the UAE government, Moopen said “the need is now for the working class…the labourers.”

“We have been in the industry for 25 years so we have a good rapport with the regulators, and we always keep this discussion open with them. The mandatory insurance will go a long way in helping these people,” she said, adding it will undoubtedly improve public health in the country.

Noted as the Middle East’s leading healthcare conglomerate, Aster DM Healthcare will be introducing three new hospitals into the UAE, with a combined bed capacity of 270 units.

Aster Hospital will be the first of the three new facilities and will be based in Mankhool, Bur Dubai. Currently in its final phase, the hospital will house 85 beds and should be fully operational by the third quarter of this year, Chairman and Managing Director, Dr Azad Moopen told attendees on Wednesday.

Following on from this, and both set for completion by 2015, will be a Medcare Women and Children’s hospital based along Shaikh Zayed Road, and a Medcare Hospital based in Sharjah. Each will house 75 and 110 beds, respectively.

During the conference at the Conrad Hotel in Dubai, Dr Moopen also announced for the first time, the soft launch of what he called Aster DM Healthcare’s “most important” project to date.

Spanning 3.2million sq ft and based in Kochi, Kerala, Aster Medcity is set to open its first phase on February 24. A conglomeration of several super-specialty hospitals in one campus, the facility will host leading healthcare technologies, staff accommodation and an onsite four-star hotel for visitors.

All the expansion projects are set to cost Aster DM Healthcare about Dh750 million over a three year period, and Dr Moopen said the new additions are bound to impact healthcare in the region, and the world.

“This will be the first of its kind in the world and we are hoping to attract patients from overseas, as well as those close by. This will be a major game changer in healthcare in the region.”

kelly@khaleejtimes.com