Affordable Cancer Care: UAE’s First Cancer Charity Hospital

Hamdan Bin Rashid Cancer Charity Hospital

Al Jalila Foundation raises AED220 million for the Hamdan Bin Rashid Cancer Charity Hospital <https://www.aljalilafoundation.ae/media-centre/photo-gallery/?gallery=7751>

The Al Jalila Foundation has announced they are one step closer to starting construction on the ‘Hamdan Bin Rashid Cancer Charity Hospital’. 

Named after the late Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, it will be the first cancer charity hospital opened in the UAE.  The hospital will accept patients from anywhere in the UAE and all services will either be free of charge or highly subsidised to help lift the burden of costly cancer treatments. 

In less than three months, the Al Jalila Foundation has raised a total of Dh300m – almost halfway towards their fundraising target of Dh750m, which equates to just over £14.5m.

The hospital will be a one-stop-shop for cancer care, providing patients with prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and palliative care. At 50,000 square metres, with a total of 250 beds the hospital has the capacity to treat 30,000 patients a year. The hospital will be built in two phases; the Al Jalila Foundation plans for the first phase to be completed by 2023 and provide 150 beds. 

The Al Jalila Foundation states, the hospital “will provide best-in-class outpatient, ambulatory and diagnostic services as well as inpatient and surgical services in a nurturing environment that prides itself on personalised patient care.”

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Medical Research Institute will also be partnering with the hospital on research studies to continue expanding pioneering cancer care. 

There are approximately 4,500 new cases of cancer a year in the UAE. Not everyone will have the financial ability to support themselves or a loved one through a cancer treatment journey. 

For one cycle of chemotherapy, the average cost can range from Dh300,000 to Dh400,000 (£58,720 to £78,290) – depending on the type of cancer. Insurance policies can vary between the Emirates and those with limited insurance plans may have to contribute a high amount towards the cost of their treatment. Hospitals do their best to ask charities to help cover the costs for those in need, but financial worries can still cause unnecessary stress in cancer patients. A charity hospital will help alleviate financial concerns from both the doctors and the patients and their families. 

Of course, any option to reduce the costs of cancer care is highly sought after – whether that be in government healthcare, private hospitals, or charity hospitals. Our PanTum Detect blood test can be a cost-effective solution. 

By using Pantum Detect as a first point of information either as a routine check, or due to suspicious signs of cancer, the next steps for the patient can quickly be determined. Patients with a negative result can be ruled out without being referred for more invasive and expensive tests, thus reducing pressure on downstream services and allowing those with positive results to be referred for further tests without delay. 

Other financial benefits include:

  • Increasing the number of early-stage cancer patients, as treatment is more cost-effective in early-stage cancer.
  • Targeting patients with asymptomatic cancers, which tend to have very high treatment costs, as they are often diagnosed at a late stage.
  • The test is simple to use for the patient and the clinical team, further releasing capacity for the workforce and lab services further down the line.

At RMDM, we are working hard to make PanTum Detect available as first point of information in primary care clinics and hospitals such as the Hamdan Bin Rashid Cancer Charity Hospital. 

If you would like to partner with RMDM or find out more about PanTum Detect, please get in touch via our contact form.

Resources:

https://www.aljalilafoundation.ae/what-we-do/treatment/hamdan-bin-rashid-cancer-charity-hospital/

https://gulfnews.com/uae/health/al-jalila-foundation-raises-dh300m-for-hamdan-bin-rashid-cancer-charity-hospital-in-dubai-1.80582146

https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/health-and-fitness/chronic-diseases-and-natural-disorders/cancer-

https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/uae-cancer-care-abu-dhabi-pledge-means-treatment-is-covered-for-those-who-can-t-pay-1.849388