Dubai: The Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) will build retirement homes that will provide full-time medical care to its residents.
There will be several housing options, including independent retirement homes, assisted living homes and nursing homes, Marwan Abdin, CEO, Healthcare City, told Gulf News. The homes will be open for everyone, including expatriates.
The homes are part of the second phase of Healthcare City that is trying to attract more medical tourists to Dubai.
The emirate is once again attracting investment in residential homes and a number of patients find Dubai an affordable and high-quality medical care alternative to the US and Europe.
The homes will be located at the Continuing Care Retirement Community and international specialists will be at hand to provide medical support to the residents, said Abdin.
The World Health Organisation estimates the world population of over 60-year-olds will double by 2050 to 2 billion. The number of older people unable to take care of themselves, due to limited mobility and other physical or mental health problems, will also increase.
In the UAE, the number of elderly people will reach 50,000 by 2020. With more women working, the concept of caring for the elderly is changing, according to sociologists.
Abdin said a 400-bed medical teaching college is also being planned. “We are currently revisiting designs and plans,” he said. “DHCC is committed to education and to building a specialised medical talent pool in the region,” he said.
The Mohammad Bin Rashid Academic Medical Centre is at the foundation of Dubai’s clinical, research and education structure, he said.
The CEO said six hospitals are planned in Healthcare City and more details will be made public soon.
One unique project is the introduction of pre-medical curricula at a school level, he said. The education project will be the first of its kind in the region and will be led by a top Swiss education institution, he said.
The project will partner with Al Jalila Foundation to offer the pre-medical curricula and prepare students for further medical training through the Mohammad Bin Rashid Academic Medical Centre.
The fastest growing and most common areas of health-care in Dubai are reported to be gynaecology and obstetrics, general medicine and dentistry. The expected growth from 2015 to 2025 in medical manpower is expected to increase hundredfold, he said.
The CEO spoke to Gulf News on the eve of the Arab Health Congress on Monday (tomorrow) that is expected to bring in thousands of medical experts and medical technology firms to Dubai.
