Abu Dhabi to get first private cancer centre
▶ Burjeel’s Dh1.2 billion medical city will focus on complex surgeries as well as research
A new medical centre specialising in cancer treatment is to open in Abu Dhabi this month.
Burjeel Medical City will have the capacity for 400 inpatients and will be located in Mohamed bin Zayed City.
The Dh1.2 billion project has been three years in the making and received its practice licence from the Department of Health last week.
Burjeel Medical City was built to accommodate the increasing demand for cancer services in the UAE and abroad. It will be Abu Dhabi’s first private hospital specialising in cancer treatment.
“The medical city includes four towers, one of which will be dedicated to cancer research,” said Omran Al Khoori, president of business development at VPS Healthcare, the company behind Burjeel.
“We will have the soft opening in December. We predict it will take us around two years to start receiving patients from other countries.”
At a conference in Abu Dhabi on Friday, VPS Healthcare said their focus is on introducing more complex surgeries to the emirate. Officials plan to reduce the cost of treatment, a challenge faced by health providers worldwide. Conference attendees included former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, Nobel Prize winner Dr Ferid Murad, and Dr Solomon Zewdu, deputy director – Ethiopia – Global Development – of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
“It shouldn’t cost patients hundreds of dollars to get treated,” Dr Murad said during discussions.
Dr Shamsheer Vayalil, chairman and managing director of VPS, said the right expertise and the latest in cancer treatment equipment, could be a game changer. He said technology would ensure “care is given in the earliest stage”. “It [technology] will be the main tool in reducing cost and improving accessibility,” he said.