• Conference highlights use of latest innovations and technology in critical care
• Experts discuss latest advances in the field of critical care and disaster management

United Arab Emirates, Dubai, 6 April, 2017: Under the patronage of H.H. Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance, and President of the Dubai Health Authority(DHA), His Excellency Humaid Al Qatami, Chairman of the Board and Director General of the DHA opened today the 13th Emirates Critical Care Conference (ECCC) at InterContinental Hotel in Dubai Festival City.

The three-day conference is organized by the Emirates Intensive Care Society and aligned with the 9th Asia Africa Conference of the World Federation of Societies of Intensive Care and Critical Care Medicine (WFSICCM), 13th International Pan Arab Critical Care Medicine Society (IPACCMS). More than 1500 doctors and 35 international medical equipment companies participated in the conference.

Al Qatami said that in line with the vision of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and with the support of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council and Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance, and President of the Dubai Health Authority(DHA), the DHA is further strengthening its critical care services.

He highlighted that the Authority offers advanced critical care services and has highly qualified medical professionals to deal with emergency medical situations and for critical care management.

He said that all allied services that are needed for critical care management such as radiology, nursing, anesthesia and pain management are also highly specialized at the DHA.

He said that DHA recognizes the importance of ICU care and that this conference provides a platform to discuss the latest in critical care and to exchange state-of-the-art information and expertise in this field.

Dr Hussain Nasser Al Rahma, the Chairman of the Emirates Critical Care Conference, President of Emirates Intensive Care Society and Pan Arab Critical Care Society, head of ICU at Dubai Hospital and Al Zahra Hospital said that the field of critical care is of great importance to help alleviate the suffering of critically ill patients.

He said the conference will discuss the latest protocols, studies and treatment methods. It will also discuss sepsis prevention and management, artificial ventilation, latest updates in pulmonary wash procedures, minimally invasive cardiology and hematology procedures etc.

Dr Al Rahma said, “Critical care is a fast advancing specialty and is dependent on highly skilled professionals, latest technology and integration of services to achieve the best patient outcomes and to lower mortality rates. Dubai is currently the benchmark in this region and one of the leaders in critical care, we have the latest equipment and skilled medical staff and we strongly focus on training students and faculty in this field.”

He highlighted that DHA hospitals are well equipped with the latest non-invasive medical equipment that helps gauge the complete status of patients and immediately identifies what is wrong with the patient. “Such sophisticated equipment and highly skilled staff have helped us provide internationally recognized levels of care to patients and has reduced the risk of mortality in our ICU’s

“We will soon introduce the renal failure test stick, which is the latest non-invasive method that helps detect accurately if a patient has renal failure so that immediate measures can be taken to prevent further determination of the renal function,” said Dr Al Rahma.

Moreover DHA is training medical and nursing students from South East Asian and African Countries in the field of critical care during the three-day conference.

He added that the critical care unit at the DHA is a leading unit, which is training doctors from different hospitals in the UAE on the use of the new technologies in critical care.