Cambridge, United Kingdom, 12 May 2010 (WAM) - Wife of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, today visited Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge as part of a fact-finding initiative to visit hospitals across Europe to assist in the development of the Al Jalila Childrens Speciality Hospital in Dubai. As part of Her tour, Princess Haya visited Great Ormond Street Hospital and Evelinas Childrens Hospital in the UK and the Childrens Cancer Ward at the Aachen University Hospital in Germany last summer.
The Al Jalila Childrens Speciality Hospital in Dubai will be the first dedicated childrens hospital in the United Arab Emirates. Princess Haya, during Her visit to Addenbrookes, discussed best practice in patient care, the fundamental importance of research initiatives and of first-rate medical education as a means to achieve excellence in paediatric healthcare services. Accompanied by Dr. Mary Archer, Chairman, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Dr. Gareth Goodier, Chief Executive, Cambridge University Hospitals and other specialized doctors, Princess Haya toured the clinical areas of the hospital including the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), the Paediatric Oncology Ward and the Neurosciences Critical Care Unit. "It was a pleasure and an honour to show HRH Princess Haya around Addenbrookes," stated Dr. Archer after the tour. "She visited us to see the way we work and how we put patient care and safety at the heart of all we do. Princess Haya was very interested that we are the only hospital in the region to have a dedicated cancer unit for babies and children up to the age of 16 and was keen to visit our Paediatric Intensive Care Unit and our neurosurgical facilities. We have our own plans for a childrens hospital, so being able to share knowledge and experience with the team in Dubai will help both teams make their future projects even more successful."The Cambridge childrens hospital is part of the plans for the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, which will cover 140 acres rather than the current 70 occupied by Addenbrookes and the Rosie. The campus will provide room for extensive new clinical facilities including Papworth Hospital as well as expanded services for maternity, neurosciences and cancer. Princess Haya continues to work closely with the team at Dubai Health Authority to create the Al Jalila Childrens Speciality Hospital, which was announced in December 2008 by HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and is due to be opened in 2012. Upon completion, the hospital will be a state-of-the-art building 200 bed childrens hospital with a full-fledged Emergency Department and Outpatient Department supported by a comprehensive Imaging and Radiology Department, Nuclear Medicine, Clinical Laboratory Department, Hospital Pharmacy, Rehabilitation Services and several other offerings. Furthermore, the design of the hospital takes into account energy saving strategies to facilitate reductions in the global energy consumption. The Al Jalila Childrens Specialty Hospital will also have a dedicated Helipad directly connected with the Emergency Department to accommodate any type of paediatric emergencies excluding Road Traffic Accidents. Late last year, Al Jalila Childrens Speciality Hospital won the first place in the category of Future Health Projects at the prestigious World Architecture Festival in Barcelona, Spain.Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2010.
