JEDDAH, 20 December 2006 — The new MyCare Medical Center in Jeddah’s Aziziah district gives a new option to people seeking medical care for a variety of conditions that can be treated in one day.
The new approach should speed up treatment for many patients and provide a practical choice for those who do not require the services of larger clinics or hospitals.
“MyCare is concerned with your care,” said Dr. Mohammed Iqbal Sanai, the hospital’s patron and a leading cardiologist and one of the late King Khaled’s personal physicians.
“The main objective of the center is to provide ‘link services’ in emergency care and evolve a day care service for health care and procedures. The professional planning of this center took into account the current need for improvement and enhancement of health care standards in a developing country into that of the developed world.”
At the center’s recent opening ceremony, Dr. Sanai said the new facility was the result of more than a year of planning.
“This was the work of several clinical, architectural and management consultants with one objective in mind - providing a health care service par excellence,” he said. “This center has been fully recognized as a contemporary medical care facility falling within the standards set by the Saudi authorities.”
Clinic officials said the center was not meant to replace hospital care but to provide some service alternatives for people’s everyday needs. Cases that take longer than a day or require more complex treatment are referred with detailed reports to bigger organizations for action.
“The center provides services of a nature that will be between primary health care services and that of an institution,” said Dr. Mohammed Mahmood Faruqui, consultant pediatrician and neonatologist and the center’s medical director. “The unique emergency system of the MyCare Center services is supported by seven fully equipped critical care beds.”
The clinic’s Emergency Care Unit is equipped with cardiac monitors and a central oxygen delivery system along with the latest equipment available. The service is staffed 24 hours a day and backed up by on-call specialists and direct communication with the local emergency medical system.
“Eventually ‘telehealth’ facilities that will be built into the system will provide consultation access for every one of our clients,” Dr. Faruqui said.
“Our practice profile will reflect on excellent clinical services in all specialties based on evidence and best-practice guidelines evolving dynamically into ideal care for all seeking health care help from us.”
Other services provided through the new clinic include cardiology, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, an ear-nose-and-throat (ENT) clinic along with full-service ophthalmology and dental clinics. The clinic also has its own radiology department, a modern laboratory, pharmacy and optical shop.
Home health care also will be available through the MyCare Center, providing doctors, nurses or physiotherapists to address a variety of patient needs.
“Complete dental systems and physical medicine and rehabilitation equipment are also in place,” said Nidal Tariq Khan, the center’s marketing consultant. “Plans are on the way to install screening equipment, such as mammogram, bone densitometer and vasogram equipment. Despite these expenses, the center will offer cost-effective, economical packages for all.”
Larger hospitals and care facilities should benefit as the clinic can help reduce their caseloads, but the primary beneficiaries will be Saudi families and expatriates who will be able to get quality health care in a streamlined fashion.
“A large number of expatriate workers cannot afford the time, or in many cases the fees, of the bigger clinics,” said Dr. Sami Ahmed Raoof, physician and the center’s operations manager. “By cutting formal procedures to a minimum and limiting our patient profile to conditions that can be successfully concluded or at least ameliorated in one day, we can offer a service accessible to a very wide range of people.”
Among the specialists at the center are dentist Dr. Azmath Yar Khan, who did his postgraduate diploma in restorative dentistry and cosmetics from Eastman Dental Institute, University of London; ophthalmologist Dr. Laique Ahmed Syed, who served in the Ministry of Health for more than 25 years; emergency physician Dr. Nikhat Rafi and internist Dr. Mustafa Mahmood.
