The new Dubai Diabetes Centre has won the award for the ‘Best Physical Environment’ at the Hospital Build & Infrastructure Middle East Exhibition & Congress, which got underway in Dubai today.

The event which is being held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, was officially inaugurated by Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al Owais, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development and acting Minister of Health. It was attened by Qadhi Saeed Al Murooshid, director-general of the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and other senior officials.

“This centre sets a new trend in healthcare facility design in the Emirate. The Dubai Diabetic Centre represents a unique example of a friendly physical environment for adult and paediatric patients who visit the clinic,” Al Murooshid said.

“At the DHA, ensuring that our environment is comfortable and welcoming is of pivotal importance. This design provides a child-friendly environment and is appealing for adults as well. It is important to make sure that the patients are happy both with our services and the environment of our hospital and health centres,” he said.

The centre will be operational by mid-August, the statement said. Once operational, the existing diabetes centre in Latifa Hospital premises will shut down and the new centre will cater to all existing and new diabetic patients.

Speaking about the other projects in the pipeline, Al Murooshid, said: “The construction of the Dh70 million ($19.06 million) Al Barsha Centre, which will cater to a population of 60,000 people, is completed and the centre will be operational by mid-August this year. The population in Al Barsha area is growing and thus we wanted to ensure we provide healthcare facilities for them.”

“The other ongoing project is the Al Jalila Children’s Specialty Hospital and this project will provide state-of-the-art paediatric services for the UAE population and the region.”

“We are paying strong emphasis to primary healthcare centres (PHC’s) as it is frontline healthcare for the population,” he said. “We will close down the Umm Suqeim PHC because it is one of the oldest and is very small in size and in its place we will build a much bigger facility in Jumeirah. The construction of this centre will begin in December 2012.”

“In 2013, we will also begin construction of another primary healthcare centre in Al Warqa area. Our aim is to ensure we provide high level primary healthcare services across all the geographical areas of the Emirate,” Al Murooshid added.

The exhibition will end on June 6. – TradeArabia News Service