A partnership between US non-profit Mayo Clinic and UAE healthcare network Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA) is planned to bring world-class specialist care to Shaikh Shakhbout Medical City (SSMC).

According to a Mayo Clinic news release, it will introduce the latest healthcare technologies to the 741-bed hospital in Abu Dhabi, including robotic surgery, which will provide “precise, less-invasive techniques with the goal of achieving better patient outcomes”.

There are also plans to open a new medical research centre on the site “to promote interdisciplinary learning and treat the most complex medical cases”.

In an interview with Gulf News, Mayo Clinic vice dean of practice William Stone said the partnership would introduce the latest treatments, such as proton beam therapy and large particle therapy for cancer treatment.

“To become an international destination for medical care there are pieces that we would be wanting to add, and there would be technologies and other things we’d be adding along with our expertise and knowledge,” he said.

WHY IT MATTERS

SSMC is one of the UEA’s largest hospitals for patients with serious or complex medical conditions. It offers specialised services and advanced diagnostics, including procedures for the arteries, burns and shock, chest and lungs, orthopaedics and reconstructive surgeries.

The partnership, in which Mayo Clinic will become a shareholder in the new operating company, is intended to set a new benchmark for specialist medical care in the region and transition the hospital to a premier destination for healthcare in the Middle East over the next decade.

THE LARGER CONTEXT

Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi Department of Health is launching a series of initiatives to accelerate the use of digital solutions in the region.  

Earlier this year, SEHA, which owns all public hospitals and clinics in the city,  became one of four healthcare providers in Abu Dhabi to start using the Malaffi Health Information Exchange (HIE) platform, which allows the exchange and access of patient data.       

ON THE RECORD

Mayo Clinic president and CEO, Gianrico Farrugia M.D. said: “Mayo Clinic's humanitarian mission and values are the foundation of our international strategy, which includes sharing and extending our culture, clinical knowledge and healthcare delivery expertise to help meet the needs of patients wherever they are.”

SEHA chairman, H.E. Salem Rashid Al Noaimi, said: “Our partnership with Mayo Clinic will allow the SEHA network to benefit from access to Mayo Clinic’s vast experience, cutting-edge practice and research, and clinical and non-clinical processes and pathways.”

Chairman of the Abu Dhabi department of health, His Excellency Abdulla Bin Mohamed Al Hamed, said: “This partnership between SEHA and Mayo Clinic is a major development for Abu Dhabi's and the UAE's healthcare system, setting new benchmarks and delivering the advanced and specialist services the community deserves.”