Heart doctors at a new purpose-built hospital in Bahrain hope to attract patients from across the Gulf, as the Mohammed bin Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa Cardiac Specialist Centre becomes a hub for cardiac procedures.
The new medical centre, which was funded by the UAE, will have 148 beds compared with just 60 at a previous facility. It was officially inaugurated on Monday.
We would like to attract patients from across the region and all the Gulf countries
Dr Leena Al Sulaibeekh
Both child and adult patients will be treated in the specialist clinic, which houses both surgical and cardiac facilities, and an outpatient capacity of 14 rooms, more than double the old hospital’s six.
The centre near Manama was financed by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development with a grant of Dh735 million, and is due to open shortly once its IT systems are installed and fully operational.
“We are proud to have this centre that will be one of the largest in the Middle East,” said Dr Leena Al Sulaibeekh, a consultant cardiologist at the centre.
“It will be an intelligent hospital, and a centre for technology with the most modern equipment available.
“There is a big radiology department with the best scanners for MRI, with 3D echo scanning machines.
“We had just one operating room in the old hospital, but this new building has two, and a third hybrid operating room.
“This will allow us to have surgery and cardiac catheterisation underway at the same time, which is quite unusual.”
In co-operation with the government of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Abu Dhabi fund has financed several development projects with the aim of stimulating growth in the country.
Bahrain was one of the first countries in which the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development began its work in 1974.
Since then, the aid agency has provided financing of about Dh19.5 billion to finance 29 projects across multiple sectors, including housing, water, health and transportation.
The new heart centre is built on an area of 53 thousand square meters and is the keystone of several strategic projects between Bahrain and the UAE.
The hospital chiefs hope to attract complicated cardiac cases from across the region, as their respected consultants now have access to world-class facilities.
“Our cardiac centre is known for its reputation and we have been serving heart patients from the eastern province of Saudi Arabia for the last 20 years or so,” said Dr Al Sulaibeekh.
“We would like to attract patients from across the region and all the Gulf countries.
“We are happy to serve them.”
Covid-19 in Bahrain
Medical staff are seen in the newly-inaugurated intensive care unit for Covid-19 patients at the Bahrain Defense Force Hospital in Riffa in April, 2020. AFP
A man wearing protective gloves checks the app “Be Aware”, launched by Bahrain’s health authorities to contain the coronavirus disease by spreading awareness and sharing updates on the situation. Reuters
A Bahraini man wears a protective face mask following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease, as he shops at a vegetables market. Reuters
A grocery store displays protective masks for sale amid the Covid-19 pandemic in the old marketplace of the Bahraini capital Manama. AFP
A Bahraini police officer instructs a foreign shop vendor to wear his protective mask amid the Covid-19 pandemic in the old market place of the Bahraini capital Manama. AFP
A Bahraini police officer instructs foreign workers on proper self-protection measures amid the Covid-19 pandemic in the old marketplace of the capital Manama. AFP
A Bahraini police officer instructs foreign workers to wear protective gear amid the Covid-19 pandemic, in the old marketplace of the capital Manama. AFP
Expatriated workers carrying out road project development sanitise their hands as they shift between work sites in Aali village. AFP
Expatriated workers have their temperatures checked while carrying out road project development in Aali village south of the Bahraini capital. AFP
Fully equipped beds are seen in a makeshift ICU dubbed the Field Intensive Care Unit 1 set up by Bahraini authorities to treat the coronavirus disease at a car-park of Bahrain Defence Force Hospital in Riffa. Reuters
Medical staff are seen in the newly-inaugurated intensive care unit for Covid-19 patients at the Bahrain Defense Force Hospital in Riffa. AFP
Doctors and nurses are seen doing their final check on the equipment in a makeshift ICU dubbed the Field Intensive Care Unit 1 set up by Bahraini authorities to treat the coronavirus disease. Reuters
Published: February 17, 2021 08:40 AM
