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UAE: Two hospitals designated as stroke centres of excellence in Abu Dhabi

Both boast multi-disciplinary teams of licensed and trained professionals in cerebrovascular and neurological disease across all associated disciplines

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi (CCAD) and Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City (SSMC) hospitals have been declared as centres of excellence for stroke in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Making the announcement, the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH) underlined that both the healthcare facilities classify as stroke centres for their ability to provide high quality and exceptional levels of stroke care. Such world-class care has been provided through a multi-disciplinary team of licensed and trained professionals in cerebrovascular and neurological disease across all associated disciplines including emergency medicine, stroke neurology, interventional neuroradiology, cerebrovascular surgery, diagnostic neuroradiology and diagnostic radiology.

Both hospitals have an exceptional stroke care system equipped with an advanced facility infrastructure, diverse clinical services, continuous monitoring of quality and performance, advanced educational and research engagements, international accreditation of the facility, and healthcare professionals’ upskilling with knowledge and expertise.

The centre of excellence plaques were awarded in the presence of Mansoor Ibrahim Al Mansoori, Chairman, DoH; Hasan Jasem Al Nowais, Group CEO and managing director of M42; and Dr Noura Al Ghaithi, Undersecretary, DoH.

“The DoH continues adopting a patient-centric approach when delivering world-class healthcare services, alongside enhancing the response time to all healthcare emergencies including stroke response,” said Dr Ghaithi.

SSMC’s multispecialty care

SSMC is home to a 24/7 state-of-the-art stroke unit, which provides multispecialty care from stroke experts with speciality training in: conditions that affect the blood vessels in the brain and spinal cord (cerebrovascular neurologists), interventional neuroradiologists, physical medicine and rehabilitation (physiatrists) and emergency medicine.

“Being recognised as a centre of excellence for stroke care is a significant testament to the progress made at SSMC’s stroke services including interventional neuroradiology,” Dr Naser Ammash, CEO, SSMC said.

“Less than a year ago, we inaugurated our state-of-the-art angio suite for diagnosing and treating ischemic strokes, and we have already witnessed outstanding outcomes. During this time, we have performed many cases of mechanical thrombectomy. Our integrated multispecialty practice, supported by education, research and innovation, enables our experts to deliver a unique and timely comprehensive multidisciplinary care for a wide range of common and complex neurological conditions,” Dr Ammash noted.

CCAD comprehensive services

Meanwhile, CCAD provides a range of comprehensive services that offer the latest diagnostic and treatment options for patients with stroke and other cerebrovascular conditions. A team of world-class stroke neurologists, neuro-interventionalists, vascular neurosurgeons and specialists provide personalised care to each patient that is guided by sophisticated imaging techniques such as ARTIS Icono, the most advanced stroke interventional system in the region. This state-of-the-art AI-enhanced system ensures faster, more accurate evaluation and treatment for stroke patients, with improved outcomes over more traditional systems. Alongside expertise and technology, patient experience and safety are other key focus areas for CCAD’s Stroke Centre.

Dr Mumtaz Khan, chief of staff and acting chief medical officer at CCAD said: “Our highly skilled caregivers and cutting-edge technological solutions provide the best clinical outcomes for stroke and other neurological diseases. This eliminates the need for people from the UAE to travel abroad for complex care.”

Minimum requirements

The department has outlined criteria and prerequisites for a healthcare facility to be designated as a centre of excellence. There are six key indicators that are taken into consideration: clinical outcomes, patient experience, patient safety and quality of medical services, levels of employee competency, and the facilities’ medical education, research strategies, and residency programmes. DoH also assesses the accreditations to determine the healthcare facility’s eligibility to become a centre of excellence.

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