The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has announced that the new state-of-the-art diabetes management and care centre will be operational by September.

The centre will be located on the 2nd of December Street in Dubai and will provide the most comprehensive care for diabetic children and adults, a statement from DHA said.

Qadhi Saeed Al Murooshid, director-general of the DHA, said: “The current centre which is located in Latifa hospital will no longer be operational once the new centre is ready. The expansion plan for the diabetes centre is to provide comprehensive diabetes care and management to more patients in the Emirate.”

“The new centre will increase the clinic’s capacity by more than 50 per cent and the centre is almost four times the size of the existing one. The current centre is 8000 sq ft whereas the new one is 20,000 sq ft.”

The expansion of the current diabetes centre is in line with DHA’s strategic vision to ensure it meets all the healthcare requirements of the population of the Emirate, Al Murooshid said.

“The highlight of this centre is that the DHA will introduce paediatric endocrinology services, which is a highly specialised field that caters to complete endocrinological care for children,” he said. “We will provide diabetic care and management for children under the age of 18 years. We have designed the paediatric centre to be child-friendly and the kid’s section will have a playarea and some games so that children find the centre attractive and experience a warm and comfortable environment.”

It will also have a day care treatment room so that all diagnostic tests can be conducted in the centre itself.

Moreover it will also enhance the capacity for retinal imaging and podiatry facility, both of which are critical for early diagnosis of complications in diabetics.

There will also be an in-house pharmacy, a laboratory to conduct tests and a gym. “We were keen to provide a gym within the premises of the centre so that patients can exercise under medical supervision,” Al Murooshid said. “An exercise physiologist will analyse and tailor make programs to suit the needs of every diabetic patient.”

The centre will begin a new programme of training 10 primary health care physicians from the DHA in diabetes care and management. Physicians will train with the centre for one year and join one of the DHA’s 14 primary health centres.

The aim of this programme is to further strengthen the importance of specialised diabetic care across primary centres as it provides frontline treatment to patients.

The new centre will be able to provide treatment to double the number of patients and the DHA will expand the staff at the centre by 50 per cent to cater to the increase in demand. – TradeArabia News Service