DHA inaugurates first in-patient rehabilitation unit in Rashid Hospital

The eight-bed unit is the first of its kind in-patient rehabilitation facility to be set up in a government hospital in Dubai.

His Excellency Qadhi Saeed Al Murooshid, Director General of Dubai Health Authority, said:

"Across the world, developed countries are facing a growing demand for rehabilitation facilities are we have responded to that demand. We have always had a fully-functional outpatient physical medicine and rehabilitation unit, and now with this in-patient facility, we will further improve the level of rehabilitation services we provide our patients."

Whilst the in-patient facility will be a new feature, the outpatient physical medicine and rehabilitation unit was established in 1973 and today it receives over 100 patients a day. In 2008, the unit received the Sheikh Hamdan Award for Medical Science for being an outstanding medical department in the UAE.

Dr Suad Trebinjac, head of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Rashid Hospital said, "The move to establish an in-patient unit is to provide rehabilitation services to those patients who have been treated for severe trauma cases such as spinal cord and brain injuries, but are not in a position to be discharged."

"We are talking about severely affected people. When these patients are brought into the hospital, the aim is to provide acute treatment and save their lives. Once that has been achieved, rehabilitation services are required to help restore their physical and cognitive functions so that they can lead a better quality of life," he added.

He said for most patients the physical and cognitive functions get severely impaired and rehabilitation helps restore these functions to the maximum extent possible.

Restoring physical functions includes standing, walking and to some extend improving body balance, whereas cognitive functions include memory, space disorientation and concentration, said Dr Trebinjac. "In addition to this we have to take into consideration their physiological needs because many of these patients suffer from depression and aggressive behaviour as a result of the depression," he added.

He said that these issues cannot be addressed in an acute hospital setting such as the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and requires rehabilitation. He added, "Rehabilitation has a two-fold purpose. It prevents severe complications which these patients are prone to and it also helps improve the patient's quality of life."

Dr Trebinjac said patients cannot go back easily into a home or societal environment immediately after suffering from major complications such as spinal injuries, stroke or even heart attack and rehabilitation prepares them to be as independent as possible.

"The main aim is to restore their functions and make them ready to get back into society with their maximum functions restored. It does improve the quality of life for the patient and helps patients throughout their life," Dr Trebinjac added.