Expanding community: ‘Give us some More’

Access to healthcare in new Dubai (see box) has become a challenge due to shortage of medical facilities, according to a healthcare practitioner.

"Given the expansion of the population and the scale of development, the healthcare facilities in this area are almost non-existent," said Dr Aleem Mirza, founder of Village MediCentre at Arabian Ranches.

With one hospital in Jebel Ali and a few clinics in the vicinity, Mirza’s clinic in Arabian Ranches serves a community of over 12,000 people. "We get over 60 patients a day from the community and from places such as International City," said Dr Mirza. According to him, apart from health centres in The Springs and The Greens, the area lacks primary healthcare facilities.

He added that frontline emergency services are crucial for any community. "People can travel for a hospital bed space, but emergency frontline treatment is critical and we need many more primary clinics to tide over this acute shortage."

The Village MediCentre gets over six to seven emergency calls per day, said Dr Mirza, adding that "in emergencies like heart attacks and epilepsy, the patient can die in 10 to 15 minutes and an ambulance takes over 30 minutes to reach this area".

Value addition

Dr Azad Moopen, Chairman of Dr Moopen’s Group, which opened the 60-bed Medcare Hospital near Jumeirah, said: "Most developers didn’t realise the importance of medical facilities earlier, but fortunately now they look at it as value-addition."

Medcare Hospital opened seven months ago and is located adjacent to Safa Park. "About 25 per cent of the patients come from new Dubai. We have primarily been successful because people prefer our hospital rather than travelling to the city. In emergency cases, people in Jumeirah can reach our hospital within five to 10 minutes."

The hospital has a 24-hour emergency centre and receives an average of 50 cases per day.

The group will open 10 primary centres, including one on The Palm and another in The Gardens. "Primary clinics are important for frontline emergency cases. Places such as Abu Dhabi have made it statutory for workers’ accommodation to have a medical centre. I think that is the way forward," said Dr Moopen

"My face began to turn black and blue and I realised the antibiotic I had just taken was causing an allergic reaction," says Nilo Richardson, a businesswoman and mother of two, who lives in Arabian Ranches.

Six months ago, she was alone at home when she was rushed to an emergency room after taking an antibiotic for a sinus problem.

Richardson’s neighbour called an ambulance and took her to the Village MediCentre in Arabian Ranches. "The doctor immediately gave me three shots of antihistamine, but it didn’t work because the allergy had spread. My lungs stopped functioning and I couldn’t breathe. I needed to be resuscitated."

After a minute, Richardson began to breathe again.

"The ambulance took me to a hospital and I was kept under observation for a few hours. The doctors said I survived because of the immediate care I received."

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