DHA Director-General visits Family Gathering Centre to check on the elderly patient who was recently mistreated by caregiver.

United Arab Emirates, Dubai, April 29, 2014: His Excellency Engineer Essa Al Maidoor, Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority(DHA) visited today the Family Gathering Centre to check on the 88 year old Emirati patient who was recently mistreated by his Asian caregiver.

The Asian helper was spotted on surveillance video slapping and beating the patient with a wooden stick. The man’s son suspected his father was being abused and set up a camera to monitor the caregiver.

The Family Gathering Centre of the DHA shifted the patient to the Centre to complete his medical assessment and to ensure he receives complete psychological and social assistance.
Al Maidoor visited the Centre this morning and met with one of the daughters of the patients. Upon hearing that the patient is in Dubai Hospital for a hearing assessment, he went there to meet him.

He assured the patient that DHA will provide complete medical, social and physiological support and that he should consider the Family Gathering Centre to be his second home.

Maidoor denounced the mistreatment committed by a helper and reiterated that respect and caring for the elderly is an important part of UAE culture and that we owe a great deal to our elderly population.
The patient  was anxious and worried that the caregiver would hurt him when he first arrived at the centre. Post admission to the Centre, the patient is calmer and relaxed and is undergoing physiotherapy as well as medical assessment including ECG tests etc.

The patient has hypertension, arthritis of knees and back, mind cognitive impairment and hearing impairment. His hearing assessment  was completed today and he needs a hearing aid which will be provided by the centre. He is also undergoing physiotherapy sessions and yesterday the Centre conducted the first round of cupping therapy for his knees to mobilize his blood flow and relive pain.

The Centre currently has 27 in-patients and 70 out-patients. It is the sole centre for the elderly in the emirate and provides a host of services for geriatric patients including physiotherapy, memory training, cognitive therapy, medication to treat co-morbidities, rehabilitation, physiological counselling and all forms of geriatric care to ensure the elderly are well taken care of. The centre also has a snozelen room, which is the first-of-its-kind in the Middle-East region for treating elderly patients.

The patient will continue to stay at the Centre until his treatment is completed. His family members  have been asked to bring the new caregiver that they hire to the Centre so that geriatricians can educate the caregiver and family members about how to take care of the patient. This is one of the services the Centre provides for  elderly patients as it is very important for both family members and caregivers to understand specific needs and methods of taking care of the elderly.