Dubai: Patient footfall in hospitals run by the Dubai Health Authority is likely to rise substantially this year.
More than 524,000 patients visited the DHA-run hospitals in the first half of 2016, DHA officials said. This number will go up by the end of the year as the four DHA-run hospitals and speciality centres received over one million patients last year.
Dr Ahmad Bin Kalban, CEO of Hospital Services Sector, said: “In 2016, in the first half itself, we have seen a high volume of patients; this includes outpatients, accident and emergency cases, walk-in visits as well as admissions. All DHA hospitals have a high occupancy rate and this reflects the quality of services and the trust that we have built with our patients.”
Bin Kalban added that focusing on being patient-centric is a priority at DHA and that in line with their health strategy 2016-2021, the DHA will continue to expand its services as well as provide specialised and super-specialised care to the residents and visitors alike.
The total number of patients that visited Dubai, Rashid, Latifa and Hatta hospitals in the first half of 2016 was 524,892. Of these, almost 38 per cent (199,450 patients) visited Dubai Hospital, 12 per cent (64,596 patients) visited Hatta Hospital, 33 per cent (173,833 patients) Rashid Hospital and almost 17 per cent (87,013 patients) Latifa Hospital.
The total number of outpatient visits across these facilities were 280,766; the total number of accident and emergency cases and walk-ins were 202,598 and the remaining 41,528 were admissions.
The DHA will continue to expand its health services to keep up with the population growth. The projects will enhance geographical access to health care. As per the DHA’s Health Strategy, the authority will focus on preventive care as well as specialised care.
