Business & Finance Club - Medical Sector: The first privately-owned medical facility specialising in diabetic care opened its doors in the capital this week and will cater to a waiting list that comprises about 10,000 diabetes patients.

The Diabetes Care Centre is offering its services at two branches of Al Noor Hospital as part of the group’s plan to provide a new chronic illness management initiative in partnership with Green Crescent Insurance Company, which started issuing its first insurance policies in January 2009 but has since notched up 70,000 members.

Health Authority Abu Dhabi (Haad) statistics show that the prevalence of diabetes among UAE residents has reached 25 per cent. In 2009 alone, diabetes care cost in the emirate of Abu Dhabi reached Dh3.7 billion, the study said.

Carl Sardegna, chief executive officer of Green Crescent Insurance, labelled diabetes in the UAE an obvious epidemic, with health insurance companies spending up to 60 per cent on medicines related to diabetes. “Chronic illnesses account for most of the health insurance cost. That’s why we are emphasising preventive medicine rather than curing the complications related to diabetes,” he said.

“We have up to 10 health care professionals assisting a patient from the moment he/she walks in, and their visit will not exceed one hour. We are working on opening a third diabetes centre in Al Ain by the end of this year,” Dr Kassem Alom, managing director of Al Noor Hospital, said.

Speaking about what he called “the journey of care” for diabetic patients in the hospital, Dr Ahmad Majid, assistant managing director at Al Noor Hospital, explained that each patient will be greeted by an ambassador, who will guide him/her to a nurse for checking vital signs and blood sugar, urine and cholesterol tests.

An initial consultation with a doctor will then take up to 30 minutes. The ambassador then assists the patients to an opthalmologist for an eye check-up. The last stage is a visit to the pharmacy, to make sure the patient receives the correct medication.

“Once the patient undergoes all these steps, he/she meets a health educator who offers advice on healthy lifestyle habits. We are working on introducing a nutritionist into the programme,” Dr Majid said.