UHS extends emergency services

Sharjah hospital now offers 24-hour service for children

University Hospital Sharjah (UHS) has announced that its emergency paediatric services have been extended to 24 hours a day due to the growing demand from parents. In the past 15 months, the Emergency Room has treated over 27,000 children.

Specialist emergency doctors can now oversee common conditions like respiratory cases, digestive problems and any other disorders afflicting children round the clock.

UHS is one of the few hospitals in the UAE that offers a dedicated paediatric emergency room with a full-time paediatrician on duty 24 hours a day.

Professor Hakam Yaseen, medical director and head of the Paediatric and Neonatal Department at UHS, said: “There are many instances where a child has difficulty breathing or an intense fever in the middle of the night and we wanted to provide treatment to children without delay. In those stressful moments, parents want to have access to an emergency room that specialises in paediatric care.”

In preparation for the extended hours, UHS has hired two additional, board-certified paediatricians, as well as nurses and support staff. UHS currently has six beds in the paediatric emergency room and has the capacity to add more.

It is important to have doctors constantly available at the paediatric emergency unit to handle any acute illness or trauma in infants less than four weeks old to children as old as 14, Prof Yaseen said.