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Arab World to add more than 100,000 new hospital beds by 2050 to boost healthcare services

Increased investments in new hospital build programmes in the GCC - up to $55 billion by 2020 -to help address hospital bed requirements in the region
Dubai, UAE; 25 January 2012 - Hill-Rom, a global leader in patient support systems, sees hospitals in the Arab world adding 138,965 more hospital beds by 2050 in a bid to boost healthcare services throughout the region.¹

Alejandro Infante, President, International Division, Hill-Rom, says the patient-to-bed ratio in the GCC region is 2.1 per 1,000 population, but expects the figure to improve with new hospital builds to materialise in the next five years, owing to increased investments in the healthcare sector estimated to reach $55 billion by 2020.²

"Increased expenditure on new hospital builds by health authorities in the region is a positive sign that shows a determination to address growing demand. In addition to having the ideal patient-to-bed ratio, healthcare decision makers should take into consideration current and future advances in patient support systems this time to further enhance the provision of healthcare services in the GCC," he added.

Acknowledged as the global leader for high performing and intelligent bed systems, Hill-Rom is showcasing its Total Room Solutions concept for the first time at the Arab Health 2012 exhibition as the next phase of patient room development in hospitals globally.

The Total Room Solution is Hill-Rom's holistic approach to patient care and room design. It is a distinctive approach offered by Hill-Rom that allows hospitals to provide an integrated and comprehensive range of services for patient care and mobility, while also enhancing patient comfort and addressing critical issues such as safety of the care providers and the entire hospital room environment.

However, there is more to medical room design than just providing a comfortable bed or other amenities; above all, the room must be a safe and efficient healing environment that intrinsically lends itself to clinical care. Having supplied beds and stretchers to hospitals since 1929, Hill-Rom is a medical device manufacturer that has extended its services into this field.

"The Total Room Solution represents the next stage for patient room design in hospitals. It goes far beyond how a room simply looks, it influence how patients feel and what they experience. It can also improve the productivity of care providers, enabling them to focus on providing the most efficient care," said Vincent Kocher, Vice President, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa for Hill-Rom.

In Kocher's words, "Rather than just selling individual pieces of equipment, Hill-Rom is the only one in the market that is able to provide this all encompassing solution - from cutting-edge hospital beds equipped with communication features as well as technology that allows data to be collected and exported to the hospital's mainframe.

With this technology, a nurse can tell whether the bed is in the optimal position and is providing adequate comfort and protection to patients as well as care providers.

To achieve this, Hill-Rom offers an in-house design service called RoomBuilder®, which involves one-on-one planning with architects in order to better understand critical design requi­rements. It includes a computer-aided design phase in which customers can view 2D layouts and a 3D walkthrough of the prospective room.

Hill-Rom RoomBuilder® service helps understand critical design requirements, how they affect the overall efficiency of the room and find the most direct route to a design solution.

"With Total Room concept the flow of patients, caregivers and visitors is optimised in the limited space of the room, and can potentially reduce the overall cost of care," Infante ended.

-Ends-

Data on patient-to bed ratio was obtained from Meeting the GCC Healthcare Challenge, Ithmar Capital and Dow Jones Private Equity Healthcare Paper, 2009.

New hospital build investment figures based on Hospital Build and Exhibition Congress Has Gone Global, Hospital Build (page 10, Issue 4, 2011)

ABOUT HILL-ROM HOLDINGS, INC.
Hill-Rom is a leading worldwide manufacturer and provider of medical technologies and related services for the health care industry, including patient support systems, safe mobility and handling solutions, non-invasive therapeutic products for a variety of acute and chronic medical conditions, medical equipment rentals, and information technology solutions. Hill-Rom's comprehensive product and service offerings are used by health care providers across the health care continuum in hospitals, extended care facilities and home care settings to enhance the safety and quality of patient care.

Hill-Rom...enhancing outcomes for patients and their caregivers.

www.Hill-Rom.com

For Total Room Solutions inquiries, please contact:
Jihad Hussami
Marketing Director - EEMEA
Hill-Rom
T: +971 (4) 4503530
E: Jihad.AlHussami@Hill-Rom.com

For media inquiries, please contact:
Anthon Garcia
Majlis PR & Events
+97150.1398661
anthon@majlisdubai.com

© Press Release 2012