Royal Bahrain Hospital (RBH), a 65-bed multi-specialty hospital being promoted by Bahraini investors in partnership with Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), will be offically launched today (June 28).

Bahrain Minister of Health Sadiq Al-Shehabi will inaugurate the BD6 million ($16 million) facility in the presence of dignitaries including ambassadors of various countries representing the diverse profile of patients that avail of the new hospital’s services.

The official ribbon cutting cermony will be followed by a tour of the hospital for the attendees, said RBH officials at a press conference held in Gulf Hotel on Wednesday to announce the launch.

Speaking at the event, Dr Sahadulla, the chairman of RBH and KIMS group said, 'We had a soft opening on January 15, 2011 which was an initial step only; we know we had to cross a path to get to our fully operational state. Now that we’re at this stage, we feel as if we’re reaching our dream of providing healthcare of the highest quality at an optimum cost to the people of Bahrain.'

“The staff at the hospital have been working diligently even before the opening, and we are appreciative of their hard work. KIMS group is continuing to expand across the trillion dollar Gulf market, with a presence across four GCC countries, and Bahrain offers the optimal location from which to base our organization,” he noted.

Ahmed Jawahery, the RBH president, said this multi-million dinar project is promoted by Bahraini and Indian businessmen and has been conferred a special Indo-Bahraini project status by the Economic Development Board (EDB), which has played a key role in the hospital’s setting up process.

'The hospital has been designed, equipped and staffed to create a paradigm shift in the medical service provision landscape of Bahrain, and it has been doing that in the past eighteen months, and will continue to do so,' he added.

“Since our opening, we’ve had nearly 65,000 patient visits to our hospital for consultations, treatments and check-ups. We’re also proud that around 1400 surgeries have been successfully performed; many of them major surgeries such as knee and hip replacements, and bariatric surgeries. We strive to get the best medical talent from all over the world,” remarked Dr Abdul Gaffar, top surgeon and medical director at RBH.

“Additionally, we’re extremely happy with the patient profile which is represented from all walks of life from around 90 nationalities!,” he beamed.

Kamal bin Ahmed, the Minister of Transportation and acting chief executive of the EDB, said: 'Strong medical provision options are vital to support the continuing economic diversification strategy in Bahrain, alongside the ongoing investment in other key infrastructure projects in areas such as education, housing and transportation.'

'We are delighted that KIMS group has made such a significant investment in the RBH project, which also underpins the increased economic co-operation between Bahrain and India,' he added.

RBH is the KIMS group’s second venture in the country following the success of KIMS Bahrain Medical Center (KBMC) and the sixth project of the group in the GCC.

Its flagship hospital is the 650-beds quaternary care hospital, the Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) located in Trivandrum, India.

The group, whose regional operations are based out of Bahrain, has presence in Oman, Saudi Arabia. UAE and Qatar besides Bahrain and is looking at expanding with more units in the region.

Dr Ravi Preet Singh, COO of the hospital said, 'RBH is a milestone in itself for the group, but we’ve witnessed many milestones within the hospital. The opening of each new department, our first surgery, the joining of well-known and highly experienced doctors, the first baby born; we celebrate every successful patient and every person who joins, because as our hospital family grows, so does the quality of our services.'

He pointed out that RBH was the first paperless and filmless hospital in the Middle East using a state of the art Japanese Technology.

RBH, he said, offers quality equipment, with integrated software and runs on the latest technologies procured from all over the world. It has the only operational sleep lab in the Kingdom, advanced laser technology for cosmetic surgery, 16-slice CT scan, 4-D Ultrasound machine and also offers fetal medicine treatment.

'Our commitment to quality service is reflected from the fact that in the very first year of our operations, the process of getting international quality accreditation has already initiated & all clinical & non clinical practices are aligned towards evidence based guidelines,”he added.-TradeArabia News Service