Dubai, United Arab Emirates, January 26, 2014: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai and HH Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai visited the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) stand during their tour of the 40th edition of the Arab Health Congress and Exhibition which began today.

His Excellency Essa A Maidoor, Director General of the DHA provided an overview of the DHA projects and the medical tourism packages which will be rolled out by the DHA hospitals.

He said that medical tourism packages will soon be available at Dubai Health Authority's hospitals and primary healthcare centres.

Al Maidoor, said:  "DHA offers high-quality health services across all spectrums of  healthcare and we are the centre of excellence for many health specialties, therefore, we decided to offer medical tourism packages for these specialties. We intend to extend our medical tourism packages and include more services in the future.

"Our packages are attractively priced and  can be availed of by both residents who are part of the domestic medical tourism initiative as well as visitors who are keen to visit Dubai for medical tourism."

Dr Manal Taryam, CEO of Primary Healthcare at the DHA, said: " We have several screening packages such as men's, women's, adolescent and elderly health packages. These are available at some of DHA's primary healthcare centres(PHCs) such as the Al Barsha PHC. Packages for men and women comprise of specialist consultation, lab tests and other diagnostic tests. For instance, women's health package includes consultation with a gynecologist, several investigations including but not limited to blood tests, pap-smear, breast cancer screening and a mammogram.

The senior citizen package consists of several tests including lipid profile, liver profile and several other tests. The package also provides them with several vaccines such as hepatitis and influenza vaccine."

Taryam said the both the men's and the women's health package are priced at AED 1,800, the adolescent health package is AED 1300 and the senior citizen package costs AED 2100.

Taryam added that preventive screening is of utmost importance, it is essential for early detection and prevention of diseases and therefore both residents and visitors will see the benefit of these packages which are being offered at such attractive rates.

In addition to the screening packages, DHA will offer fertility packages. The packages will be offered by the Dubai Gynaecology and Fertility Centre(DGFC), which is one of the leading centers for the treatment of infertility in the Gulf region and the Middle East.

Dr Muna Tahlak, CEO of Latifa Hospital, said: "DGFC has  introduced new packages that are one of the most cost-effective in the region. As part of the package, patients will receive a number of free consultations and ultrasound visits."|

Tahlak said the  centre attracts a high percentage of patients from  neighboring countries and thus this package will be highly beneficial for such patients.

DGFC provides specialized treatment with services such as intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection  (ICSI), in vitro fertilization (IVF), testicular sperm aspiration(TESA), percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (PESA), freezing of eggs and sperm, intrauterine insemination (IUI) , ovulation induction, gender selection, detection of genetic anomalies etc.

DGFC has achieved high rates of pregnancy consistently and during the second half of 2014, it achieved a pregnancy rate of 61 per cent, which is higher than the global average rate of 40 to 45 per cent.  DGFC also has a higher success rate of operative procedures which is higher than the international range of 40 to 50 per cent.

DGFC has a high pregnancy rate in women under the age of 40, with ICSI success rate of 63 per cent and IVF success rate of 69 per cent.

The total number of live births registered through treatments at DGFC (until September 2014) is 4930 births.

LASIK packages: 

The DHA run Dubai Hospital will also offer LASIK eye surgery packages. The packages will be priced at AED 6500 and will include all pre-operative assessment and tests, said Dr Abdulla Naqi, cconsultant ophthalmologist and acting-head of ophthalmology department at Dubai Hospital.

LASIK or Lasik (Laser-Assisted in situ Keratomileusis), commonly referred to as laser eye surgery or laser vision correction, is a type of refractive surgery for the correction of myopia, hypermetropia, and astigmatism. The LASIK surgery is performed by an ophthalmologist who uses a laser or microkeratome to reshape the eye's cornea in order to improve visual acuity. For most patients, LASIK provides a permanent alternative to eyeglasses or contact lenses.

Naqi, said: " In the last six years, we have performed 5000 LASIK surgeries at Dubai Hospital and we have a high success rate. This service is much in demand and since we specialise in it, we decided to offer this package, which can be availed of by residents and medical tourists."

About the Dubai Health Authority:
The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) was created, in June 2007, by Law 13 issued by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, with an expanded vision to include strategic oversight for the complete health sector in Dubai and enhance private sector engagement. His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance is the President of the Dubai Health Authority and His Excellency Engineer Essa Al Maidoor is the Director-General of the DHA.

The DHA's aim in Dubai is to provide an accessible, effective and integrated healthcare system, protect public health and improve the quality of life within the Emirate. This is a direct translation of the objectives of the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015 launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Keeping the strategic plan in mind, the DHA's mission is to ensure access to health services, maintain and improve the quality of these services, improve the health status of nationals, residents and visitors and oversee a dynamic, efficient and innovative health sector.

In addition to overseeing the health sector for the Emirate of Dubai, the DHA also focuses on providing services through DHA healthcare facilities including hospitals (Latifa, Dubai, Rashid and Hatta), specialty centres (e.g. the Dubai Diabetes Center) and DHA primary health centres spread throughout the Emirate of Dubai.

The main pillars of service delivery at DHA health facilities are quality, efficiency, patients and staff.  It is our aim to maintain and improve the quality and efficiency of DHA health services. An important aspect of the service delivery strategy is to focus on patients, their needs and satisfaction as well as attract, retain, nurture and support outstanding staff.

Prior to the establishment of the DHA, the Department of Health and Medical Services (DOHMS), which was established in 1973, was the functioning authority that almost exclusively focused on health service delivery.

© Press Release 2015