The public can send medical queries and receive answers through the New Al Qasimi Hospital website launched yesterday, said Sheikh Mohammed bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Director of the Sharjah Medical District.

He noted that the website aimed at bridging the gap between and enhancing the relation between the public and medical staff.

"We aimed at increasing public medical awareness and to help them receive treatment for their illnesses through the easiest possible means and at their convenience. Medicine, like other fields and sectors, is no more bound by barriers and borders, with the world opting for globalisation and the Internet technology," he explained.

He said that the public can file their medical queries to the hospital's different sections and they will get answers and free consultations at their e-mail addresses.

The website, www.naqh.com, operates on the same lines as major medical websites in the U.S.

Sheikh Mohammed further said that the site includes detailed information about the hospital's different sections, names of the heads of departments and sections and medical staff.

Each staff member has an e-mail address in order to enable the public to contact them easily, he added.

He noted that an employee will be assigned to check the e-mail and send answers.

The website will also include recent medical information aiming to update and increase public awareness.

Sheikh Mohammed extended his gratitude to the key people behind the website project – Dr Anwar Al Hammadi, Dermatologist at the Hospital, and Dr Suhail Kazim, the Hospital's Technical Director and Head of the Surgery Department.

Dr Kazim said that patients' appointments will be made on the website in the near future. The public may also enquire about medical institutions and centres abroad through the site's Second Opinion Service.

Dr Kazim explained that the public will be able to get addresses of overseas medical centres so that they can contact them directly; or they may receive answers to their queries from overseas centres via the medical staff of the New Al Qasimi Hospital.

The website is in both Arabic and English.

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