The Dubai Health Authority (DHA), United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Orthopadie Technik Berlin (OTB), Germany, recently signed an agreement to cooperate in the field of orthotics and prosthetics.
The first of its kind agreement between a government entity and the private sector in the Middle-East region was signed by Dr. Shawqi Khoori, CEO of Rashid Hospital, Dubai, and Karl Schmidt, OTB general manager, in the presence of senior DHA officials including Khalid Al Sheikh Mubarak, the deputy director-general of the DHA.
Per the agreement, OTB will set up a state-of-the-art retail store in Rashid Hospital, which will include products to assist those with special needs. The store will also provide an array of prostheses for those with amputations, according to a DHA statement.
“The agreement serves two purposes; it provides patients with disabilities with access to state-of-the-art treatment facilities as well as high-quality products including artificial limbs,” Mubarak said in a TradeArabia article. “These products will be available locally at competitive prices, ensuring patients do not need to place an order abroad. This move will cut the waiting time of a few weeks to a few days.”
Khoori agreed. “At the hospital, we have one of the biggest rehabilitation services in the Emirate and this agreement helps enhance the services we already offer,” he said.
