UAE | Health

Hospital bed shortage hits mothers-to-be hard

A shortage of beds and services at public maternity hospitals in the emirate have hit new parents and mothers-to-be hard, forcing them to turn to expensive private hospitals.

  • By Nina Muslim, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 00:45 February 14, 2008
  • Gulf News

Dubai: A shortage of beds and services at public maternity hospitals in the emirate have hit new parents and mothers-to-be hard, forcing them to turn to expensive private hospitals.

Dubai and Al Wasl Hospitals, run by the Department of Health and Medical Services (Dohms), have restricted the number of patients admitted after a premature baby died from a hospital-acquired infection at the Al Wasl Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in January. The infection was due to overcrowding.

Anne Shiranthichandima, a 37-year old housemaid, had to deliver her baby prematurely at 26 weeks at the Welcare Hospital. So far, the cost for treating her daughter in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is estimated to be as high as Dh200,000.

"I had to go to Welcare Hospital because Al Wasl Hospital had the infection. They told me they had space for me but not my baby. But my sponsor said, no, I needed to go to a hospital for me and the baby," she told Gulf News.

However, Anne, said she was lucky as her sponsor had promised to take care of the bill, admitting other women may not be as lucky.

Paramedics have also reported difficulties in sending maternity cases to the two hospitals. The most recent is a seven-month pregnant woman, who was turned away three days ago.

"The woman had slight pain. But Dubai and Al Wasl Hospitals would not accept her because it was not an emergency," said Jemilah Al Zaabi, head of technical operations at Dubai Unified Ambulance Services.

She said the woman was finally sent to the Iranian Hospital, a private hospital.

Dr Abdullah Al Khayat, director of Al Wasl Hospital, told Gulf News the hospital has had to limit admittance to patients who have registered with the hospital.

"Previously, Al Wasl Hospital had a flexible policy to admit some unbooked patients to NICU who have high risk or as a humanitarian issue ... the demand was [still] far beyond our capacity and the flexibility in our admission had its implications on patient safety, related to infections," he said.

He asked the community to understand the restrictions and the consequences of not adhering to the policies. Dohms spokesperson, Nada Al Qassimi, added the emirate had included maternity and special baby care unit expansion in its healthcare plan, saying it would take time before all the facilities were ready.

In the meantime doctors are trying their best to prevent premature labour among patients.

"That's why I tell them to get regular check-ups ... and go see a doctor immediately if they have any problems," said Dr Rosario Tigno, a general practitioner at the Filipino Medical Centre.

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