A specialist kidney dialysis unit has been opened at the UAE’s floating hospital in Al Arish, Egypt.
It was opened on Tuesday by Hamad Al Zaabi, the UAE's ambassador to Egypt, and comes as part of the national effort to provide humanitarian and medical support to displaced patients from the Gaza Strip. The unit has two dialysis machines, enabling six sessions a day with each session taking about four hours.
The opening of the unit reflects the increasing number of Palestinian patients with kidney diseases and the heightened demand for dialysis sessions, state news agency Wam reported.
On Saturday, 10 more patients from Gaza were admitted to the hospital. Dr Ali Al Kaabi, the hospital’s director, said patient admissions have continued since the reopening of the Rafah crossing. He said the hospital remains fully prepared to receive patients from Gaza and to deliver treatment.
Duty of care
In November, figures were released showing that more than 5,000 operations had been conducted aboard the hospital since its launch on February 24, 2024.
The repurposed ship is equipped with advanced surgical and intensive care units, a radiology department and laboratories, 100 patient beds and an additional 100 for accompanying relatives.
The UAE launched its humanitarian campaign, called Operation Gallant Knight 3, to provide essential support to Palestinians following the outbreak of the war with Israel on October 7, 2023.
