DSO gets hospital, university

Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), the integrated free zone technology park, today announced its plans to host a hospital and medical university project developed by Saudi Arabia’s premier healthcare concept, Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Hospital (DSFH), in an effort to contribute to academic advancement and extend quality medical services to support the local healthcare industry.

The agreement was signed at the DSOA headquarters by Dr. Mohammed Al Zarooni, Vice-Chairman and CEO of DSOA, and Dr. Mazen Fakeeh, President and Chairman of the Board of Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Hospital.

Estimated to be built at a cost of Dh1 billion across 150,000 square meters, the project titled ‘The University Hospital’, will be constructed in two phases. The hospital is expected to be completed by mid-2017, followed by the medical college in 2019.

Offering over three decades of expertise in healthcare and hospital management, the DSO- based hospital will offer 4,000 new jobs while delivering world-class medical services with the new 300-bed teaching hospital. The University Hospital will focus on family healthcare and patient-centred services, targeting the growing community of residents in DSO as well as neighbouring areas. Equipped to offer secondary and tertiary medical services supported by comprehensive diagnostic centres, the hospital will primarily focus on family and patient-centered services, catering to 700,000 patients per year, with an estimated 40,000 admissions and 20,000 surgical operations.

The proposed hospital will also function as a full-service medical institution, provisioned with centres of excellence in medical and surgical sub-specialties; mother and child health; cardiology and spine surgery; plastic and cosmetic laser surgery, as well as obesity management.

Named after its patron institution, the Fakeeh Medical University has been designed to complement the new hospital’s unique academic care delivery setup. Equipped with cutting-edge technology and state-of-the-art medical care simulation facilities, the university will be managed as a private and well-networked academic institution, distinguished for training and research excellence. Managed by a team of highly-skilled healthcare professionals, the university will additionally offer its students opportunities for wider exposure, through international affiliations for exchange programmes with the best medical schools in the world. In addition, Fakeeh Medical University will partner with local universities, including the Rochester Institute of Technology in DSO; American University of Sharjah; Al Ain University and Dubai Academic City, to help foster collaboration among medical students, researchers and clinical care providers.

The University Hospital, along with the Fakeeh Medical University will look to offer theoretical and practical instruction in varied fields, including medicine, nursing, laboratory sciences, radiology, physiotherapy, dentistry, clinical pharmacy, as well as health policy and management. The project will also include a research and development center for basic sciences in order to develop medical innovations and best practices in the region.

Commenting on this agreement, Dr. Mohammed Al Zarooni, said: “The move to host the hospital and the medical university in DSO is in accordance with the directive of His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to develop the medical tourism industry in the emirate. The initiative is also a step forward in the implementation of the strategy of the Executive office to make Dubai a hub for medical tourism".

"Recent statistics shows that the number of medical tourists receiving treatment is estimated to increase by 15 per cent each year. Additionally, healthcare spending in the UAE is expected to reach AED40 billion by 2015, while medical tourists are set to cross the 20 million mark for the same period".

“We at Dubai Silicon Oasis have been always committed to maintaining excellence in all the partnerships that we forge in order to provide the best quality services for the community. DSFH is widely known in the region for being a hospital of firsts and great accomplishments,” Dr. Al Zarooni added.

"We are confident that their vision to create a premier medical academic institution perfectly matches and balances our efforts to provide a better quality of life to DSO’s residents through the application of best practices in the field. This project will certainly tick all the boxes through value health treatments, best medical advice, job creation and most importantly the creation of a dependable knowledge in the health field that will benefit this region,” he said.

Dr. Mazen Fakeeh, President and Chairman of the Board of Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Hospital, said: “In our long-standing experience with healthcare services in Saudi Arabia, we have seen, experienced and treated various illnesses that are peculiar to this region. Our guiding motto is to utilise and impart the knowledge gained over the years in the field to bring about a marked improvement in health services for residents here. By extending our reach to Dubai from our new premises at the high-tech park, we hope to provide our quality healthcare to a wider cross-section of GCC residents.

“We have taken special care to optimally design the hospital for the convenience of patients. Our trained staff is qualified to provide the best in quality treatments across a range of specializations. As one of the few teaching hospitals in the UAE, we hope to train and enhance the supply of healthcare professionals, who can take their rightful place in the country’s medical resource pool,” Dr. Mazen added.

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