UAE | Health
Health tourism brings in the cash - and trash
Health or medical tourists visiting Dubai for cosmetic/aesthetic surgery is one factor causing "enormous medical waste", according to incinerator company Zenath.
- By Alice Johnson, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:33 April 19, 2008
- Image Credit:
- Health or medical tourists visiting Dubai for cosmetic/aesthetic surgery is one factor causing "enormous medical waste", according to incinerator company Zenath.
Dubai: Health or medical tourists visiting Dubai for cosmetic/aesthetic surgery is one factor causing "enormous medical waste", according to incinerator company Zenath.
J.S.A. Bukhari, Executive Director, Zenath, part of the ETA Star group, said: "Dubai has become an internationally renowned spot for medical care with high standard international level hospitals coming up and with the establishment of Dubai Health Care City. The growing local and expatriate population and people from different countries particularly from the Arab world, coming to Dubai for medical treatment, have all contributed to the generation of enormous medical waste, which is potentially hazardous and needs to be carefully disposed of."
A 2007 Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI) report stated that medical tourism will grow 15 per cent annually, reflecting the growing demand.
Riyad Khalil Mater, general manager, ADCCI information centre, said earlier that global revenues for treatment tourism exceeded $56 billion (Dh205.52 billion) in 2006.
According to Dubai Municipality, it handled 1,188 tonnes of medical waste in 2006, compared with 579 tonnes in 2002. This quantity is expected to reach 4,030 tonnes by 2017 with the establishment of Dubai Health Care City's nine hospitals and more than 1,000 beds.
However, Dubai's Welcare Hospital says that medical tourism is not an issue.
Dr Ottmar Schmidt, marketing manager at Welcare World, said: "Every now and then we have people who come to Dubai for treatment, but it's not that common. This is more serious surgery which maybe cannot be done in other environments. In terms of creating medical waste - if you're speaking about consumables then definitely no, it's not a problem. We have a very limited number of doctors and patients coming here from outside."
A 2007 Gulf News report highlighted the number of Arab visitors travelling to Singapore for medical treatment.
In 2006, an average of 200 patients per month travelled from the region for treatment.
The report continues that Malaysian hospitals advertise low-cost treatments to encourage Arab visitors.
Syed Muhadzir Jamallulil, head of Tourism Malaysia in Dubai, said in the report: "The government of Malaysia supports private sector initiatives in promoting health tourism. We develop packages with hospitals, travel agents and airlines by giving incentives to family members travelling with the patient."
Thailand is also a popular destination for regional 'health tourists'.
Schmidt at Welcare World, said: "People are going outside Dubai for treatment. We are trying to meet international standards on different levels for the hospital and are trying to provide the same treatments here as abroad."
Incinerator
A new medical incinerator is currently being constructed in Jebel Ali to cope with the waste. The new vertical incinerator will have the capacity to process 19.2 tonnes of medical waste per day at a rate of 800kg per hour.
The existing incinerator at Jebel Ali currently processes 500kg of medical waste per hour.
Hussain Nasser Lootah, acting Director General, Dubai Municipality, said at the project's inception: "Dubai... is experiencing a steady increase in the quantity of medical waste due to population growth and the subsequent increase in the number of medical and healthcare facilities, not only in the urban areas, but in rural areas as well. These wastes require proper treatment, destruction and disposal."
The vertical incineration system has been chosen for Jebel Ali because of its advanced Japanese technology and exhaust gas treatment system.
Bukhari at Zenath, said: "There are different technologies used in the world for the destruction of medical waste. Autoclave is a technology used in some parts of the world - many developed countries use incinerators and there are different types of incinerators that work on different principles. Compared with them, the vertical incinerator is an advanced one, using the latest Japanese technology of vertical incineration with a better exhaust gas treatment system to avoid the emission of poisonous gases into the atmosphere."
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