Saudi Group to set up 10 medical centres in UAE

Saudi based healthcare group Badr Al Samaa Group will invest Dh 150 million to set up 10 medical centres in the UAE with the first ready for operation in Bur Dubai., its managing director said.

Speaking to Emirates 24l7, Abdul Latheef said the group plans to expand its branded polyclinics and hospitals chain in the UAE and other Gulf countries. The work on the second medical centre is progressing in Abu Dhabi.  The UAE expansion comes after the group expanded its operations in Oman, where the government controlled healthcare sector was opened to the private sector a few years ago.

“We have been planning to open new medical centres in the UAE for quite some time. This is the right time to open our first medical centre, in Bur Dubai which will have 14 divisions -- super specialty Cardiology Department, General Medicine, General Surgery, Gynecology and Obsterics, Pediatrics, Ophthalmology, Dermatology, Orthopedics, ENT, Radiology, Pathology and Dental,” said PA Mohammed, Director of the Group.

Irrespective of the doomsday prediction about the investment climate in Dubai, Badr Al Samaa Group is bullish on the healthcare market in the UAE. As part of the inaugural offer, free medical consultation will be provided to all visitors on December 24, 2010.

“We have started as a small clinic in Muscat, Oman in 2002 with just 14 doctors and one medical centre. Now we have eight hospitals and clinics, 14,00 employees and a loyal customer base of two million. While most of the clinics and medical centres in Oman used to close at 8 pm, we chose to remain open 24 hours. We will follow the same formula in the UAE. Here too, most of the clinics and medical centres are closed after 8 or 9 pm, leaving emergency patients with only costly options and government hospitals,” Mohammed added. “Our facilities will be accessible 24 hours and affordable to even patients without insurance coverage. We are also gearing up for the mandatory insurance scheme in the UAE,” he said, adding that free parking is also available in the Bur Dubai Medical Center.

VT Vinod, Director of the Group, said the group is also targeting the Indian healthcare market. “A 300 bed super specialty hospital is getting ready in Manglore, India. It will be inaugurated in February 2010. In order to widen the services for the benefit of existing healthcare customers in the GCC, Badr Al Samaa joined hands with Wellspring India Medtour Pvt Ltd, an Indian healthcare facilitation center, which has a panel of 20 super specialty hospitals in India. All these hospitals have got international accreditation and globally trained and certified doctors,” he added. The group runs Al Hilal Hospital in Bahrain and a chain of polyclinics, pharmacies and hospitals in Saudi Arabia.

The Badr Al Samaa’s first Dubai venture would be inaugurated by Sheikh Mohammed Maktoum Juma Al Maktoum on Friday (evening) and the group will offer a special inaugural offer to patients. “More than 2 million patients in Oman have benefitted from Badr Al Samaa. Being the first private sector medical facility outside the government funded healthcare infrastructure in Oman, the group plans to open one more hospital in Nizwa.

The group, which owns several medical centers and clinics in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain, is also building a 300-bed specialty hospital and heart research center in Manglore, India and new hospital projects are being conceived for the Saudi Arabian market, Latheef said.

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