The Digestive Disease Unit in Rashid Hospital is the only specialized gastroenterology unit of Dubai Health Authority. It aims to offer residents of Dubai and the northern emirates high quality medical and gastroenterology services for the treatment of different kinds of digestive diseases (which vary from minor to life-threatening), acute and chronic gastrointestinal and hepatic diseases.
The Digestive Disease Unit in Rashid Hospital was established in 1995. It contains two well-equipped endoscopy rooms and a third room is in the process of being equipped with video endoscopy and colonoscopy. One of the rooms is specially equipped for radiology accompanying procedures such as ERCP and other interventions with portable x-ray equipment, equipment for general anesthesia, argon plasma coagulation and diathermy.
There is a room for ultrasound scans and a C14 breath test machine for helicobacter pylori. There is a lecture room with audiovisual equipment. The endoscopy and lecture rooms are directly connected to the main hospital auditorium audio-visually for the purpose of transmitting endoscopic procedures and manipulations during workshops and conferences. In addition to which there is a special room equipped for pH metry and motility studies.
Two-thousand to 3,000 elective upper endoscopies, 1,200 colonoscopies and 180 ERCPs are performed annually in our unit,
There are four rooms with a total of 8 beds for GI patients in Ward 20. These beds are assigned to special gastroenterology cases as well as those that require close observation such as GI bleeding or hepatic encephalopathy. Other GI patients are admitted to different medical wards in the hospital and are attended by gastroenterology doctors.
Since its opening in 1995, GI teams are on call rota, round-the-clock, to provide coverage for emergencies in both Rashid and Dubai hospitals as well as for consultations to all the Department of Health hospitals. The number of emergency cases attended and/or endoscopies performed by our gastroenterologists on call is approaching 50 cases per week. The gastroenterology clinic is being run two days a week with a total number of 170 consultations per week.
• Care of inpatients with different gastrointestinal and medical diseases, acute and chronic.
• Outpatient care in the gastroenterology clinic twice a week.
• Gastroenterology consultations for all Dubai Health Authority hospitals and clinics.
• Gastroenterology consultations and advanced procedures for MOH hospitals and private hospitals in Dubai and the northern emirates.
• Training of medical students and residents.
• Training of gastroenterology fellows of Rashid Hospital and MOH hospitals.
• Active participation in the scientific program of the medical department in Rashid Hospital.
• Active participation in the activities of the Emirates Gastroenterology Society and in local and international conferences.
• Organization of endoscopy and endotherapy workshops.
• Establishment of elective and emergency round-the-clock gastroenterology service.
• Training of gastroenterology physicians and technicians in the performance of advanced procedures.
• Increasing the number of gastroenterology physicians capable of performing ERCP independently, from one to four.
• Introduction of new endoscopic services such as endosonography and enteroscopy and the training of the assigned physicians and staff.
• Establishment of a training program for gastroenterologists, and working on obtaining recognition and accreditation from Arab and European boards.
• Unit overview: most of the above information.
• Mission: It aims at offering high quality medical and gastroenterology services for the treatment of different kinds of digestive diseases which vary from minor to life-threatening, as well as acute and chronic gastrointestinal and hepatic diseases.
Inpatients:
• Ward 20
• Work load, occupancy
• 8 beds.
• 30-40 admissions per month.
• Statistics
• Admission criteria
• Gastroenterology cases requiring specific care
• Gastrointestinal bleeding
• Decompensated liver cirrhosis.
• Gastrointestinal and hepatic procedures.
• Discharge criteria
• Stabilization of patient condition
Outpatients:
• Gastroenterology clinic
• Working hours:
Sunday afternoon: 3:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Tuesday morning: 7:30 am – 2:30 pm
• Appointments
• Referral criteria: To be assessed and referred by a physician from one of the DHA clinics or hospitals as a gastroenterology problem.
• Discharge criteria: Stabilization or cure of gastrointestinal/hepatic disease.
• Physicians: The clinic is run by consultants, senior specialists and specialists
Upper endoscopy
Diagnostic
Therapeutic:
o Polypectomy, mucosal resection
o Esophageal variceal banding, sclerotherapy
o Histoacryl injection of gastric cardial and fundal varices
o Control of non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding
• Adrenaline injection
• Heat probe
• Metallic clipping
• Argon plasma coagulation
• Esophageal and pyloric dilatation:
o Pneumatic (achalasia)
o Through-the-scope balloon
o Bougue (esophageal)
Stenting:
• Esophageal
• Duodenal
• Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG)
• ERCP:
Therapeutic:
• Therapeutic sphincterotomy
• Stone extraction, balloon extraction and lithotripsy
• Biliary dilatation
• Biliary stenting
• Biliary ducts biopsy
• Pancreatic stenting
Endosonography:
o Diagnostic, fine needle aspiration
o Therapeutic
• Lower gastrointestinal endoscopies:
o Colonoscopy
o Sygmoidoscopy
• Lower gastrointestinal endoscopies:
o Diagnostic
• Polypectomy
• Mucosal resection
• Control of bleeding
• Adrenaline injection
• Metallic clipping
• Heat probe
• Argon plasma coagulation
• Stricture dilatation
• Stenting
Non-endoscopic procedures:
• pH metry
• Manometry
• C14 breath test
• Paracenthesis
• Liver biopsy
• Abdominal ultrasound
- Guidelines and protocols:
GI secretary computer (soft copy)
• Management of non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding
• Management of lower gastrointestinal bleeding
• Management of variceal bleeding
• Management of inflammatory bowel disease
• Management of dyspepsia
• Management of ascitis of liver cirrhosis
- Digestive Disease – Patient Education:
Lower Gatrointestinal Endoscopy Preparation
Rashid Hospital, Digestive Diseases Unit
Ward 20 Tel: 00971-4-2192639
Endoscopy appointments: 00971-4-2192640