King's College Hospital London opens the doors of its Dubai-based hospital

Dubai: King’s College Hospital London in Dubai has opened its doors, both for outpatients and inpatients. The impressive 100-bed facility has already welcomed numerous patients and begun surgical operations, including general surgery and paediatric orthopaedic cases. Located at the heart of Dubai Hills, the hospital cost 200-million-dollars and took one-and-a-half years to build.

King’s College Hospital London has been brought to Dubai through a joint venture with Al Tayer Group, Dubai Investments and the UK-based Ashmore Group. The newly-opened hospital will act as the central direct link to King’s College Hospital in London, a world-class teaching hospital based in the United Kingdom. The London-based hospital has a 175-year history of caring for patients with complex conditions and is one of the largest teaching hospitals in the UK. The Trust’s 11,000 staff treats over one million patients every year, and annually over 9,500 children are born in its maternity wards.

The London and Dubai hospitals will share knowledge from established King’s research centres in the UK. Utilising King’s College Hospital’s world-leading expertise in healthcare will ensure the very best care is delivered at patients’ bedsides in the UAE, ensure further collaborations between UAE-based clinicians and UK-based physicians, and most importantly ensure seamless patient journeys between the Dubai and London hospitals.

This means that world-leading care, including several highly specialised tertiary care procedures, such as fetal surgeries, where babies are operated on while still in their mother’s womb or procedures that reverse some forms of type 2 diabetes, will be made available at the hospital in Dubai through a visiting Faculty programme from King’s College Hospital in London. This programme provides access to some of the world’s best clinicians from the UK by providing excellent patient-care and treatment. The visiting faculty will be in the UAE regularly to see patients during their pre- and post-operative care at all of King’s UAE facilities. Upcoming visiting faculty includes, Associate Professor Bu Hayee, Consultant Gastroenterologist who specialises in pioneering endoscopic procedures to treat metabolic disease which causes high blood pressure, high blood sugar levels and obesity, bowel cancer screening, treatment of achalasia and gastroparesis, amongst other lifechanging procedures. Currently, over 70% of the employed clinical staff at King’s UAE are UK trained.

Commenting on the opening, Christian Schuhmacher, CEO of King’s in the UAE, stated, “We have marked a new chapter for King’s commitment and legacy in the UAE. We couldn’t be more pleased to see the hospital come to fruition, and offer evidence-based care, unmatched innovation, access to some of the best clinicians in the world, and first-class patient experiences. Some of our many unique patient services include: Obstetrics and Gynaecology Journey Managers providing holistic support to new mothers, psychological support to complex patient cases, and a mobile patient portal to empower patients with their healthcare needs.”

Innovation and smart technologies also feature heavily at the hospital, enhancing King’s operations and patient experiences. These include:

• King’s ‘Getwell Network’. Unique to King’s, the hospital is equipped with an edutainment system offering patients not only entertainment, but up-to-date, interactive information and education about their condition at the touch of their fingertips. For example, a patient undergoing surgery can learn everything relating to their procedure, condition management and what to expect during the recovery period through interactive media that is adapted specifically to the patient. Whilst all this information is explained by the doctor in person, patients benefit from having a one-stop-shop portal to access from hospital or remotely from home at any time. This network also gives patients access to their medical information at King’s. With increasing protection laws worldwide, this network provides patients with the convenience of accessing their medical records in a secure, protected and private manner.
• EOS imaging system. King’s is the only facility in the UAE to have this. It is an advanced orthopaedic imaging technology that gives doctors a clear 3D view of the patient’s musculoskeletal system and helps them make life-changing decisions regarding the patient’s treatment. This replaces the need to take four to six X-rays, as it automatically stitches the scans together and boasts much greater accuracy than currently used methods. It only exposes patients to 10% of the radiation normally required and has a micro radiation dose option making it highly effective for paediatric orthopaedics.
• Pharmacy-led Omnicell® End-to-end automated medication management process. This automated dispensing technology combined with Cerner® barcode medication administration and electronic prescribing ensures medication management is optimised to a safe, fully traceable, paperless system at the point of care and clear visibility of patient therapy management. King’s is also the first facility to have an automated medication management solution in the operating theatres, contributing towards patient safety.

H.E. Ahmed H. Al Tayer, Chairman of King’s College Hospital London in the UAE, added, “We are very proud of how we have been able to shape the King’s journey thus far in the UAE. King’s UAE footprint, expertise and ethics is a testament to our commitment to help further Dubai and the UAE’s vision to provide in-country world-class healthcare services.”

Mr. Ian Smith, Chairman of King’s College Hospital London (NHS Trust) said, “I am delighted that King’s is expanding its footprint to the UAE. King’s College Hospital in London has a long history of providing excellent patient care which will now be extended to patients in Dubai.”

King’s in the UAE will specialise in five core areas - Paediatrics, Cardiology, Orthopaedics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and Metabolic Diseases, as well as offer integrated pathways with King’s in London in Chronic Liver disease, Foetal Medicine, Haematology as well as several other areas. The hospital also provides acute and general care services in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Emergency Department, Cardiology, Endocrinology, ENT, Family Medicine, Foetal Medicine and Neonatology, Gastroenterology, General Surgery, Vascular Surgery, Paediatric Surgery, Breast, Thyroid and Colorectal surgery, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Radiology, Urology and Neurology.

The hospital brings the King’s UAE footprint to a total of four facilities in the UAE; the other three include Medical Centres based in Jumeirah and Dubai Marina, in addition to a Medical and Surgical Centre in Abu Dhabi. Each facility is fully integrated, 365 days a year, with King’s in London. King’s plans to further grow its UAE footprint by adding 100 beds to the hospital as part of a phase two expansion. The hospital, including the other King’s facilities, will accept most insurance providers.

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*NHS stands for ‘National Health Service’, which is the name used for the public health services in the United Kingdom. The British healthcare system is rated No 1 out of 11 Western countries per The Commonwealth Fund (an independent US think tank) for quality of care, efficiency and access to healthcare

Media contact: Alia Karim, Hill+Knowlton Strategies: 0565019503 or Alia.Karim@hkstrategies.com

About King’s College Hospital London in the United Arab Emirates

The world-renowned British teaching hospital King’s College Hospital London, is now providing trusted patient care in the UAE after a joint venture with Al Tayer Group, Dubai Investments and UK-based Ashmore Group.

King’s College Hospital London has three operational medical centres in the UAE; one in Dubai Marina that opened in August 2018, another one in Jumeirah that opened in September 2017, and the third in Abu Dhabi which has been operational since 2014.

King’s is expanding its UAE footprint with the recent opening of its flagship Dubai based hospital, in Dubai Hills. The hospital will focus on many specialties including obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, orthopaedics, neurology, plastic surgery, endocrinology, cardiology, family medicine and other specialities. For more information or to book an appointment please call +971 4 519 9999 (Dubai Hills), +971 2 501 4000 (Abu Dhabi), +971 4 378 9555 (Jumeirah), +971 4 581 3222 (Marina) or visit www.kch.ae

About King’s College Hospital, London:

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s largest and busiest teaching hospitals, with 11,000 staff and providing over 1m patient contacts every year. 9,500 babies are delivered by our hospitals each year, and over 750 patients come to our Emergency Departments every day. The hospital also trains over 900 dentists, 750 doctors and 300 nurses every year and is part of Kings Academic Partnership, leading on clinical research and academic excellence across a range of disciplines. The Trust is recognised in the UK for its leading position across a full range of capabilities and is also recognised internationally for its work in liver disease and transplantation (Europe’s largest liver transplantation centre), neurosciences, cardiac, haemato-oncology, stroke and major trauma. For more information, please visit http://www.kch.nhs.uk/

King’s College Hospital also provides treatment to private patients from outside the UK.

About Ashmore:

Ashmore is a specialist emerging markets investment manager with over 25 years’ experience in these markets. Based in London, the business was founded in 1992 as part of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group. In 1999, Ashmore became independent and today manages USD 76.4 billion (at 30 September 2018) in pooled funds, segregated accounts and structured products.

Ashmore offers several emerging markets investment themes including fixed income, equities, alternatives, multi-asset and overlay/liquidity. Ashmore’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, central banks, pension funds, institutions and high net worth individuals.

For more information, please visit www.ashmoregroup.com.

About Al Tayer Group:

Al Tayer Group is a diversified regional business established in 1979 with its headquarters in Dubai, UAE. Since its inception, the Group has grown rapidly and currently operates in 6 countries in the Middle-East and beyond, with over 9,000 employees. It has built leading operations in multiple sectors, including automotive, contracting, retail, real estate and services.

Al Tayer Group operates leading, quality-focused businesses in automobile sales and service, luxury and lifestyle retail, perfumes and cosmetics distribution, real estate, engineering as well as interiors contracting. The Group’s portfolio includes several of the world’s leading brands such as Armani, Bvlgari, Banana Republic, Bloomingdale’s, Ford, Ferrari, Gucci, Gap, Harvey Nichols and Maserati. The Group operates nearly 200 stores across multiple markets in the Middle East. In addition, Al Tayer Group has investments in contracting, supply chain management, precision tools manufacturing and travel agency services.

The Group’s value system is committed to excellence in delivering quality and customer service by empowering employees, celebrating diversity and encouraging thought leadership, within an ethics-driven corporate culture. The Group supports various charitable and is involved patron of many initiatives which grant children access to quality education and future opportunities. For more information on Al Tayer Group, please visit www.altayer.com.

About Dubai Investments PJSC:

Dubai Investments PJSC is a diversified investment company listed on the Dubai Financial Market, with over 16,700 shareholders and a market capitalization of approximately AED 6.8 billion. Dubai Investments currently has 35 subsidiaries and joint ventures across 23 diverse sectors. Incorporated in 1995, Dubai Investments operates in the core sectors of real estate and building materials and manufacturing, with investments in growth areas including education, healthcare and others as part of its strategic expansion plans. For more information, please visit www.dubaiinvestments.com.

© Press Release 2019