•      During the last few months, the centre provided telemedicine consultation and home delivery of medication for patients.

•      The centre is fully operational and provides multispecialty diabetes care and management to children and adults. 

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 24 August, 2020: The  Dubai Health Authority’s ( DHA’s) Dubai Diabetes Centre(DDC) has achieved a customer happiness rate of 97 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 said a top health official. 

DDC was established in 2009 with the vision of improving the lives of people with diabetes.  It has since helped improve the level of diabetes care as shown by the consistent decrease in the Hemoglobin A1c level leading to a decrease in complications.

The Centre provides a complete spectrum of multidisciplinary diabetes care in line with international standards.

Abdulla Al Abbar, Head of Administrative Affairs Section, DDC said that the Centre achieved 97 per cent customer happiness in the first quarter of 2020 compared to 91 per cent for 2019. Customer satisfaction was 94 per cent compared to 90 per cent for 2019 and customer confidence was 98 per cent compared to 95 per cent in 2019.

Dr. Shadi Tabba, Consultant Pediatric Endocrinologist at DDC said 350 children and 8,500 adults visited the centre this year which is a decline of almost 50 per cent compared to 2019.  “This was due to the COVID-19, however the centre provided telemedicine consultation and home delivery of medications for patients to avoid any inconvenience and ensure continuation of diabetes treatment.”

He highlighted that approximately 60 children and 200 adults use insulin pumps and about 170 children and 500 adults use diabetes sensors. 
Dr Tabaa added that the centre has a specialised Pediatric Endocrine Clinic to take care of young people with diabetes in a specially designed child-friendly environment.

The clinic treats children from newborn to 18 years. He said Type 1 diabetes (previously referred to as the juvenile-onset diabetes) mostly appears in children and adolescents. This type of diabetes is linked with genetic and environmental factors. 

However, he emphasized that in both children and adults, Type 2 diabetes in particular is easier to manage and it needs a complete lifestyle change. “Type 2 diabetes is linked to excess weight and obesity and therefore parents, especially those with a family history of the disease, should ensure children eat healthy food, exercise regularly and lead active lifestyles,” said Dr Tabaa. 

The team at DDC comprises of Endocrinologists, Specialized Nurse Educators and Dietitians, Exercise Physiologists, Retinal Camera Operators, Mental Health Counselors and Podiatrists.

The centre has two fully equipped Ophthalmology clinics with Retinal Cameras as well as an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) machine.
DDC was the first DHA facility to start a Podiatry Clinic. DDC also has a Demonstration Kitchen for live food preparation classes as well as general nutritional counseling.

In 2019, the Centre had 5702 new and 33,493 follow-up patient visits.

The centre is a JCI accredited facility and also has multiple ISO certifications (QMS, EMS, BCMS, OHSMS). The International Diabetes Federation has recognized DDC as a Centre of Excellence for both Diabetes Care and Diabetes Education.