DHA’s Seniors’ Happiness Centre provides comprehensive quality care to elders of the Emirate

The Director of Dubai Health Authority’s (DHA) Seniors’ Happiness Centre, Dr Salwa Al Suwaidi stressed that the centre exerts all efforts to provide quality preventive, diagnostic and treatment services to its 300 visiting patients and 20 residence patients.
Al Suwaidi, said the centre is the only centre of its kind in Dubai to provide comprehensive and highly specialized geriatric care to Emirati Elders in an ideal family-like environment that ensures their physical and mental wellbeing.

Dr Suwaidi said that centre implemented all the needed precautionary measures to protect inpatient elders from the coronavirus. As for visiting elderly patients, the centre provided them with the needed physical and psychological care through home visits and telemedical consultations, while ensuring that they are receiving their needed medication.
She added that the centre utilized virtual smart applications to give them tips on how to cope and protect themselves from the virus, especially as they are one of the segments that are prone to develop serious life-threatening symptoms.

Highlighting some of the centres services, Dr Al Suwaidi said that the centre provides long-term residence for Emirati Elders of Dubai who don’t have first-degree relatives and also provides short-term residence of up to 60 days to elders that meet a certain criteria.

It also provides day care services for Emirati senior citizens of Dubai, medical supervision, comprehensive daily nursing care, physical, rehabilitative and occupational therapy, cognitive enhancement services, medical supervision of emergency cases among the residents of the centre and psychological, social and recreational services.
She added that the DHA has exerted great efforts to enhance the capabilities of the centre and provide it with the best treatment, rehabilitation and recreational facilities that help elders lead a healthy life.

Dr Suwaidi said that currently 6% of the Emirati population are elders, and this rate is expected to increase to 11% by 2030, due to the advancements in healthcare and standards of living.

She added that prior to the country’s union, the average age was 53 years old, while it now reaches up to 80 years old—according to the DHA’s annual statistical report—which is one of the highest levels in the Middle East region.

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