A leading British eye hospital has opened its first overseas branch at DHCC.

Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai (MEHD), the first overseas branch of the 200-year old UK-based Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, treated its first patients at the Al Razi Medical Complex in DHCC.

Ann Crawford, the first patient of the day, said that name recognition was a factor in her decision to come to MEHD.

“I had been meaning to get my eyes tested for a very long time, but I just didn’t know where to go. By happy coincidence, I heard on the radio that Moorfields was opening here, and I know from living in the UK that it is the best eye hospital to go to.”

The facility will provide daycare surgery and outpatient diagnostic and therapeutic services, including emergency care, for a variety of surgical and non-surgical eye disorders, and will raise standards of opthalmic post-graduate training in the GCC through its partnership with Harvard Medical School Dubai.

A team of highly-trained opthalmic specialists are resident in Dubai, and visiting consultants and telemedicine links with the hospital’s world renowned London branch will ensure patients receive top-class diagnosis and treatment.

Previously, thousands of patients travelled from the GCC to London for opthalmic care.

Dr Chris Canning, chief executive and medical director of Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai, said:

“We plan to make a significant contribution to healthcare delivery in the GCC and beyond, through research and training, and incorporating the best internationally recognized standards of medical practice.

“The team that we have assembled represents the best in their respective fields, and I’m sure that any visitor to the Hospital will see that in terms of design, functionality and state of the art equipment, it is paramount in its class.”

Moorfields Eye Hospital London is the oldest centre for ophthalmic care, teaching and research in the world.

Last year, the hospital conducted over 23,000 ophthalmic operations. TradeArabia News Service