Abu Dhabi hospital shuts down, health chiefs confirm

Patients who were being treated at Universal Hospital have been moved to other locations

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Aug. 28, 2013   :   
Universal Hospital in Abu Dhabi, features a pharmacy dispenser robot, the first machine of its kind in the GCC countries, which is the first of several to come for the new hospital on Airport Road. The pharmacy robot takes about 6 seconds to dispense the doctor-requested medication, which use the pharmacist then explains to the patient. Universal Hospital, owned by US-based Universal Business Corporation, a holding group, specializes in neurology and pediatric surgery, orthopedics, cardiothoracic surgery, and also plans for a sleep study foundation to operate out of its sleep lab. 
Silvia Razgova / The National





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A major Abu Dhabi hospital has shut down, the Department of Health has confirmed.

Universal Hospital, in the Mushrif area, was closed “at the request of its owner” and patients have been moved to alternative facilities.

The hospital has room for more than 300 beds and includes an emergency department and paediactric intensive care unit.

It had been ordered to close briefly earlier this year, after a routine audit by inspectors uncovered a series of violations.

“Following a request from its owner, Universal Hospital was approved to shut down,” a statement issued by the Abu Dhabi Department of Health said. “All patients were moved promptly to alternative hospitals and provided with full support or the transition of their treatment.”

Nobody was answering phones at the hospital on Friday, with callers instead played a pre-recorded message asking them to try again later.

In May, the hospital was closed down temporarily, after the Department of Health said it had broken rules designed to protect patients.

It was originally ordered to close for one month, but was allowed to open its doors again within days after authorities said they were satisfied that steps had been to address their concerns.

The hospital, which opened in 2013, has not yet issued an explanation of the closure.