A hospital that will provide VIP services for everyone

The prime objective of the upcoming Royal Hospital in Sharjah is "not to make profits but provide the best possible service to the entire community", stresses Sheikh Faisal bin Khalid Mohammed Al Qasimi, its chairman


The Royal Hospital, Sharjah is unique in concept and grand in scale. With 160 beds, it is set to be the largest private multi speciality hospital in the UAE and will offer features and services available for the first time in the Gulf.

It will be the first hospital in the Middle East to have a medical spa offering not only specialised spinal rehabilitation hydrotherapy treatments but also a variety of alternative therapies. An 80-bed hotel will also be part of this 250,000 square foot complex, expected to be operational in February.

With many special VIP services planned, the hospital is fit for royalty. But the Royal Hospital is not only for the rich.

"My vision for this hospital is that we should have a bed, a room and a doctor to suit every budget. The prime objective is not to make profits; we want to provide the best possible service to the entire community," said Sheikh Faisal bin Khalid Mohammed Al Qasimi, chairman, Royal Hospital.

He is actively involved in every stage of the project and expressed his happiness at its progress during a recent visit by Tabloid to the site.

Above expectations

"The pace of the work is better than I expected. We have an excellent team led by chief executive officer Dr Robinder Singh M.D. Our future plans include opening similar hospitals in other cities in the Emirates, starting with Dubai. My inspiration comes from the enlightened leaders of our country and I believe that by following the example of our leaders we too will be successful in our mission of delivering quality healthcare of international standards with utmost efficiency, economy and humanity," said Sheikh Faisal.

Dr Singh specialises in Internal Medicine and is well known for his entrepreneurial and administrative skills in establishing and operating large-scale medical facilities including large hospitals in Europe and the Middle East. He has travelled the world to look for the best doctors, equipment, medical staff and latest therapies for the Royal Hospital.

The pride he takes in this project was evident when he took Tabloid for a guided tour of the site. "I have put special stress on operative specialities and super specialities, but to complement these I have also tried to provide the best alternative therapies under one roof," said Dr Singh.

Best specialists

"Everything from the lights and tables in the operating theatres and the fully equipped Radiology and Nuclear medicine complexes to the bacteria and fungus proof curtains and wall paper in the consulting rooms is state of the art.

"Our resident doctors are among the foremost specialists in their fields and we will have the best doctors of the world as visiting consultants.

"We also have agreements with leading medical institutions worldwide for exchange of information and expertise as well as continuing training of our staff. Our endeavour is to ensure that UAE residents can get the best doctors and facilities for every ailment right here in this country," he added.

With the construction work nearing completion one can get a good idea of the thought and planning that has gone into the project. Built around an existing hotel building, the plan makes excellent use of the available facilities. The former hotel lobby is now part of the outpatients department, which will have 36 consultation suites. Besides a pharmacy, florist and gift shop, this area will also feature shops selling hearing aids and optical items.

A café

At one end of the lobby is located the café with a traditional Moroccan style interior. Right next to this is the entrance to the spa.

Impressive Roman pillars surround the swimming pool specially designed for aqua aerobics. An elegant reception area, spa shop, lots of greenery and a waterfall are part of the plans to beautify this area.

Already in place within the spa is the hydrotherapy area for spinal rehabilitation, with a lift to lower compromised patients into the pool equipped with a range of specialised exercise machines.

Within the spa area are several chambers for hydrotherapy, physiotherapy, cosmetic dermatology, laser, oxygen and ozone treatments, separate gyms for normal and compromised patients and dedicated units for Ayurvedic massages, Chinese acupuncture, Russian pressure point therapy and Moroccan aqua therapy treatments.

"Four VIP chambers here will be equipped to offer all spa treatments within the rooms," informed Dr Singh.

The in-patient area includes the VIP complex with a separate entrance with 22 luxury suites and 37 private rooms. Each of the two presidential suites is 2,500 square feet in area with a Jacuzzi, separate men's and women's majlis and living quarters for servants and bodyguards.

Five star facilities

"Our rooms and service will be better than a five star hotel and priced less than other existing healthcare facilities," remarked Dr Singh.

On the other side of the building are twin sharing and four in one semi private rooms to serve the needs of every strata of society. The hotel with its own pool and other facilities, located at the back of the complex will be a great convenience for people accompanying the patients.

Another unique feature of Royal Hospital is the Trauma Centre within the dedicated emergency area.

"A helipad is being constructed on the premises, so emergency evacuations can be speedily done by helicopter. We will also be the first private hospital in the UAE to have 4WD ambulances to reach patients trapped in the desert," informed Dr Singh.

"Our emergency operation theatres will have facilities for all surgical procedures. Emergency treatment of acute myocardial infarction will begin in the ambulances, which are equipped and manned as per ICU standards and continue in the cardiovascular section of the Emergency Department. Round the clock laboratory and radiology services will be available," he outlined.

The Operation Theatres (OT's) on the first floor are just empty rooms now, but will be quickly transformed when the prefabricated OT's complete with tables, lights and laminar flow air circulation systems, from German company Maquet, the world's leading manufacturer, are installed. "The OTs are equipped for every kind of surgery, from routine operations to complicated cardiothoracic, orthopaedic, vascular, reconstructive and neuro surgeries," said Dr Singh.

"I have designed the whole hospital to ensure a clean flow of traffic," explained Dr Singh as he showed us the areas earmarked for four OTs, two emergency OTs, the cardio thoracic laboratory (Cathlab), the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), the Intensive Coronary Care Unit (ICCU), and the high dependency, endoscopy and In Vitro Fertilisation units.

Maternity section

A dedicated OT, neo natal ICU and special baby care unit have been earmarked for the maternity section.

"This is a Dh110 million project, conceived with farsightedness and executed with dedica