Kochi: A delegation from Dubai headed by Humaid Al Qutami met with senior officials from the Department of Health and Family Welfare in Kerala.
Al Qutami and the delegation met with Dr Sarita R L, Director of Health Services, Dr Remla Buvi, Director of Medical Education and their team of senior officials.
The members of the Department of Health and Family Welfare provided an overview of the functioning of the health system in Kerala, mental health programmes that were introduced at the Family Medical Centres, School mental health programmes and they also provided an overview of the functioning of the trauma facilities as well as disaster management facilities.
They also discussed maternal and child health and the importance of preventing as well as early diagnosis of diseases at the level of the primary health centres.
The two sides discussed collaboration opportunities and knowledge transfer.
Al Qutami and the DHA delegation also visited VPS Lakeshore Hospital and Research Centre in Kerala. Al Qutami was received by Dr Shajir Gaffar, Group Director, BD, VPS Healthcare and SK Abdulla, CEO of VPS Lakeshore. The two sides discussed collaboration opportunities in the field of liver care, hepatology and liver transplant and gastroenterology. They also discussed collaboration in the field of complex surgeries.
Al Qutami said that the aim of the visit is to meet with leading healthcare institutions in India and explore collaborative opportunities with an aim to further bolster the health sector in the Emirate and provide super-specialized world-class care for residents and visitors.
Dr Shajir Gaffar, Group Director, BD, VPS Healthcare said that the group started its foray into healthcare in Abu Dhabi in 2007 and since them the group has grown to 22 hospitals which are operational in UAE, Oman and India. “ It is a proud moment to receive HE Al Qutami and the DHA delegation in our facility in Kerala given that the group began its operations in healthcare in the UAE and we have a long-standing relationship with the UAE. We are keen to collaborate in the health sector in the UAE with an aim to fulfil the vision of the leaders of the UAE and provide the high-quality specialised affordable care to the population and visitors.”
S K Abdulla, CEO of the hospital presented an overview of the specialties available especially the organ transplant facilities and the Liver Care Institute. He highlighted the state-of-the-art techniques the hospital has adopted, the high-quality expertise they have and the importance of multi-disciplinary care in dealing with complex surgeries such as pediatric cancer cases and rarest-of-the-rare tumour cases.
The two sides celebrated 48th UAE National Day at the Lakeshore Hospital.
The organization has a deep-rooted connect with the UAE and expressed its commitment to collaborate in the healthcare sector to further advance healthcare in the UAE.
The delegation also met with Harish Manian, CEO of MGM Healthcare and Dr Suresh Rao, Co-Director of the Institute of Heart and Lung Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support at MGM Healthcare.
The delegation was provided an overview of the organ transplant services available at the hospital.
The DHA delegation will proceed to meet esteemed healthcare organizations in Bangalore and Mumbai and will discuss collaboration in areas such as mental health.
