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Care for elderly from the comfort of home

Plans are afoot to build a network of mobile geriatric clinics so the elderly can receive care from the comfort of their homes.

Dubai Health Authority (DHA) director-general Essa Al Maidoor made the announcement on Tuesday while discussing expansion plans of the authority’s sole Community Centre for the Elderly in Al Mamzar. The centre has also been renamed as the ‘Family Gathering Centre.’

“Instead of expecting elderly patients to step out of their homes and come to clinics for treatment, the aim is to build a strong network of mobile geriatric clinics, so that our team of geriatricians can visit patients in the comfort of their homes and provide them with medical, physiotherapy and rehabilitation services,” said Al Maidoor. He said the current expansion plan for the Family Gathering Centre would cost Dh5 million and the project will be completed before the end of next year.

He also said geriatric care will be evaluated on a yearly basis and initiatives such as the mobile clinic, which is being implemented to create convenience for the elderly, will be added on to ensure geriatric services are continuously enhanced.

“Our aim is to prolong the problems of ageing and this is possible through early intervention and treatment for the elderly,” he added.

“To facilitate regular interaction with the members of the elderly centre and the community, the expansion project will include a heritage market with coffee shops and traditional fanfare activities and a mosque. The mosque will have a capacity for 150 worshippers. The heritage market will bring back memories of life in the old days in the UAE and the elderly population will also get an opportunity to interact with the community. Youngsters who come to visit the elderly members in their family will be able to use the ample landscaped areas and green lawns to be added.”

Plans are also in place to build more Family Gathering Centres in other areas of Dubai. The DHA’s Primary Healthcare CEO Dr Ahmad bin Kalban said that presently the Family Gathering centre has 30 in-patients and 50 out-patients. He said the centre introduced a day-care outpatient programme to cater to the needs of geriatric patients who do not need require round-the-clock care.

“The centre provides a host of services for geriatric patients including physiotherapy, memory training, cognitive therapy, medication to treat co-morbidities, rehabilitation, physiological counselling and all forms of geriatric care to ensure the elderly are well taken care of. The centre also has a snoezelen room which is the first-of-its-kind in the Middle-East region for treating elderly patients.”

Kalban said: “We recently introduced the H-Scan machine which is a state-of-the-art computer based system that tabulates the functional age of the person. The machine is easy to use and within 45 minutes provides details of 12 benchmarks of ageing which are based on four parameters: cognitive, sensory, motor skills and pulmonary function.”

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com