Hospital employees feted for exemplary services

Mariecar Jara-Puyod, Senior Reporter

The men and women of the Rashid Hospital-Department of Radiology were recently honoured when officials of the Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Awards for Medical Sciences (SHAMS), visited the Dubai Health Authority-run and managed facility to personally hand them their trophy and certificate as the recipient of the 2019-2020 “Hamdan Award for Outstanding Clinical Department in the Public Sector (UAE Division).”

The “physical awarding” by SHAMS executive director Abdulla Bin Souqat and SHAMS-Board of Trustees member Dr Ahmed Al Hashemi took place on April 11 (Sunday), a little over three months after the 11th year of the Awards was held virtually on Dec. 10, 2020, considering the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions.

Awards theme was “Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare” and nine other winners in various categories in the UAE and International Divisions were selected by the SHAMS Scientific Committee.

The Rashid Hospital-Department of Radiology has been recognised regionally “for its quality health and educational services (as well as) an excellence centre for stroke, inflammatory bowel diseases, and Multiple Sclerosis.”

For the 11th SHAMS Awards, they were deemed winner for their excellent delivery of Artificial Intelligence-assisted attention and services to all patients including the critically-wounded (like the traumatised)-and-ill (like the SARS-CoV2-stricken).

Specifically, they bagged the award for cutting down the analyses-cum-results release of medical imagings of stroke patients to seven minutes compared to the internationally-practised 15 minutes. They provide results for neurological patients within 80 minutes from the normal three hours. “They are a vital contributor to the journey of acute stroke, trauma, cardiac and COVID-19 patients by providing medical imaging services on time, saving resources and lives.”

Al Hashemi said all these were noted by the SHAMS Scientific Committee, when he presented the trophy and certificate to Department head Dr Usama Al Bastaki. Al Bastaki acknowledged each and everyone’s dedication, commitment and professionalism.

Rashid Hospital chief executive officer Dr Fahd Baslaib said the recognition serves as an inspiration to all hospital management and staff.

Under the patronage of the late Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, SHAMS was established on April 10, 1999 when the late Sheikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, then UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai issued Supreme Decree No. 5 with the objective of honouring scientists from every part of the world who pursue medical research that serves the larger interests of humanity.”