UAE drug addiction unit focused on results

The National Rehabilitation Centre is now providing cheaper treatment for non-Emiratis

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - Director General Dr. Hamad Al Ghaferi of National Rehabilitation Centre in UAE at the National Rehabilitation Centre and WHO workshop on addiction prevention at Hotel Fairmount Bar Al Bahr. Khushnum Bhandari for The National
Powered by automated translation

Health officials leading UAE efforts to help beat drug addiction have announced a series of new measures to combat the issue.

Dr Hamad Al Ghaferi, head of the National Rehabilitation Centre, said non-Emirati residents were now being offered treatment at half the usual price.

He also announced an additional 40 new staff would be joining the medical team at the centre next year.

Additionally, numbers of beds available to patients would be expanded, he said, with the creation of a specialist ward for adolescent addicts.

“We are revising the prices we are giving [foreign residents] and encouraging them to come and seek help,” Dr Al Ghaferi said.

“We started offering the discounted rated three months ago. And we are working with health insurance [officials] to cover mental health and addiction within their packages.”

Dr Al Ghaferi was speaking at an event in Abu Dhabi aimed at developing methods to combat addiction, held in cooperation with the World Health Organisation (WHO).

He emphasised that Emiratis seeking help with drug addiction could still be treated for free, and that new rates for foreign residents were now far lower.

Without specifying figures, he said the new prices were a quarter of the rates charged in other countries for the same level of service.

Since 2016, the NRC has treated 117 non-Emiratis via its inpatient and outpatient clinics. In total, the centre treats around 800 patients at its outpatient clinics each year.

Dr Al Ghaferi went on to outline the centre’s expansion plans, both in terms of staff numbers and available beds at the unit.

He said a new adolescent ward would be opened next year with an initial six beds. Young people currently make up 10 per cent of the centre’s inpatients.

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - From left, Dr. Vladimir Poznyak, Dr. Hamad Al Ghaferi, and Dr. Khalid Saeed at the National Rehabilitation Centre and WHO workshop on addiction prevention at Hotel Fairmount Bar Al Bahr. Khushnum Bhandari for The National
Dr Hamad Al Ghaferi (centre). Khushnum Bhandari / The National

He also said a female patient unit would be increased from the existing eight beds to 15.

“We will start with six to eight beds [for the adolescent ward] and increase gradually based on need,” he said. “We can increase to 12 and go up to 24 max.”

“In 2017, we started working on raising qualifications [of staff] on a ministerial and managerial level, and on governance of services and treatment protocols and how to deal with new substances.

“We are working towards raising standards of healthcare.”