Dubai, UAE: The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) revealed that it plans to expand the Dubai Diabetes Center’s facilities and services to increase its patient capacity and add more specialties related to complications to diabetes.

Dr. Muhammad Hamed Farooqi, Director and Consultant Endocrinologist of the Dubai Diabetes Center said the center will re-design its current premises to add clinical space and specialties.

“As part of the expansions, we plan to add specialties related to complications to diabetes such as nephrology. We also look forward to increasing our podiatry services,”

Dr. Farooqi said this will allow patients to receive all the diabetes –related services for subspecialty care under one roof instead of going elsewhere which has been a request from the patients for some time..

He said this will add additional services to the Center, which currently includes endocrinologists, diabetes nurse specialists, diabetes dietitian specialists, podiatrists, mental health counselor, physiotherapists, retinal photographers, part time ophthalmologist as well as support services, which include, pharmacy, gym and a phlebotomy facility (blood draw).

Providing quality care to patients with Diabetes is essential especially after a survey conducted by DHA’s Dubai Hospital revealed that the total prevalence of Diabetes amongst Emiratis in Dubai is 19 per cent, while the total of undiagnosed diabetes cases of Emiratis is 11 percent and the rate of pre-diabetic Emiratis is 18.6 per cent.

With the high prevalence of diabetes in the UAE, combined with the fact that the management of diabetes is mostly done on an outpatient basis, the Dubai Diabetes Center was inaugurated in 2009 to provide comprehensive diabetes management, education and research under one roof.

Dr. Farooqi said the latest statistics from 2016 found that 38,393 outpatient visited the outpatient center, out of which 34,101 were follow up patients, and 4,292 were new patients. The data for 2017 is under compilation.

He said the majority of the patients were aged 40 to 70 years, 52.91 per cent were female patients and 47.09 per cent were males.

He added that 75.06 per cent of the patients had Type 2 diabetes while the remaining suffered from Type 1 diabetes, gestational diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance, to name a few.

The achievements of the center, which aims to provide patients with tools that are essential in managing diabetes effectively in their day-to-day lives, include becoming the first facility to start an evaluation of the exercise capability of diabetic patients.

It was also the first center to install a retinal camera as a part of their comprehensive diabetes care facility; it was also the first DHA facility to have electronic health records and the first fully equipped Podiatry (foot care) facility in DHA staffed by a qualified and trained podiatrists.

Point of care investigations such as A1c, Micro albumin, Serum, Chemistry and Lipids can be performed in-house.

-Ends-

For further information, please contact:

Mahmoud Al Ali 
Head of Media
Dubai Health Authority 
myalali@dha.gov.ae
+9714 219 7260

Kamakshi Gupta and Noor Nazzal
Communications Analysts- Media Dept.
Dubai Health Authority 
klgupta@dha.gov.ae n
nnazzal@dha.gov.ae
+9714 2197455

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 Humaid Al Qatami is the Chairman of the Board and Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority.

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 2018