ABU DHABI // A new specialist maternity and children's hospital in Abu Dhabi is to be managed by a Singapore hospital operator. It will be the first time Parkway Health, part of Parkway Holdings, has signed a contract in the Middle East. The 21-storey Danat Al Emarat hospital will have 300 beds in total and is expected to be completed in 2011. It is expected to cost Dh750 million (US$204m).
The Abu Dhabi hospital, being built by United Eastern Medical Services (UEMedical), will be one of the most luxurious in the Emirates, with 15 VIP suites in addition to spa and other facilities. Singapore's The Straits Times newspaper reported that two senior management staff from Parkway Health would fill the roles of chief executive officer and chief of nursing. Further staff arrivals will be announced later.
Dr Lim Cheok Peng, group president and managing director of Parkway Holdings, told the newspaper that visiting teams of experts from Parkway Health would help the hospital develop and improve its standards. Mohammed al Shorafa, the chief executive of UEMedical, said in October that the hospital would raise the bar in terms of quality of care. It is expected that more medical staff will be recruited from around the world and housed in new accommodation near the hospital in downtown Abu Dhabi.
munderwood@thenational.ae