VPS Healthcare To Open Cancer Research Centres In Dubai, Abu Dhabi

UAE-based VPS Healthcare announced that it has partnered with Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital (SSMH) to establish cancer screening, diagnosis, treatment, and research facilities across the country.

The healthcare provider said that its first Health Promotion Centre will be established in the Marina Mall in Abu Dhabi by the end of 2014.

A second facility will be included as part of the new Korean Hospital in Dubai, which is being constructed by VPS in partnership with Meydan MHK Healthcare. The new facility, located on the Meydan Racecourse District Grounds in Dubai, will cover a 280,000 square foot plot, and comprises two buildings housing 170 patient beds and seven operating rooms.

VPS aims to have an extensive network of Health Promotion Centres across the UAE and other countries within five years, it said in a statement.

“These new centres will focus extensively on detection and accurate diagnosis, implementing test programmes stratified by age, organ system and family history,” said Dr.Shamsheer Vayalil, VPS Healthcare’s managing director.

“VPS Healthcare also plans to focus heavily on health promotion, research, and epidemiology, utilising the experience and expertise of our Korean partners.”

Korea’s SSMH will primarily be acting as VPS Healthcare’s technical services partner, advising on the methodology for the establishment of the new centres, the acquisition of technological tools, and the assembling of medical professionals and technical experts, the statement said.

Over the next two years, the new centres will become fully affiliated with VPS Healthcare’s upcoming Burjeel Medical City, a 1 million square foot complex to be located at Mohammed Bin Zayed City.

“Burjeel Medical City will provide comprehensive healthcare, with specialty services such as oncology, acute care, long term care, and wellness,” said Dr. Vayalil. “Its oncology center will provide comprehensive care for various cancers and provide critical treatments, including bone marrow transplants, for patients.”

The company said it will would also focus heavily on educating the public about cancer by creating a programme for community awareness through media campaigns and organising international conferences on cancer prevention and early detection.

“The establishment of an extensive network of healthcare centers, the fielding of both leading medical professionals and top-of-the-line technology, the employment of a comprehensive approach to treatment and rehabilitation, and education and awarenessservices – all of these endeavors are essential to success,” Dr. Vayalil said.

Going ahead, the new facilities will help not only local patients, but also support the UAE’s aim to become a medical tourism hub, he added.

“We are confident that setting up of such state-of-the art facilities will not only preclude the need for many patients to go overseas for treatment, but also change the overall perception of healthcare arena in UAE by attracting patients throughout the region.

“Above all, this initiative will save millions of dollars spent abroad on cancer treatment and avoid hassle of taking patients out of the country,” he said.