Abu Dhabi: Robotic surgery, organ transplants, and complex eye surgery will be some of high level medical procedures set to be offered by Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

With many UAE residents having to often travel abroad for complex medical treatment, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi is looking to change that precedent with its world-class medical services.

“There is no comparable facility in the region, so what you will find is that residents in Abu Dhabi won’t have to be travelling abroad for treatment, and at the same time many people will be coming to Abu Dhabi from the region to be treated,” said Dr Marc Harrison, Chief Executive of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi during a lecture at the Mohammad Bin Zayed Majlis.

The lecture was also attended by General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed forces.

“This country faces the same challenges other nations face — heart disease, diabetes, obesity — and so it’s important to have a good and sustainable health care service, that people here get the same services they would in other countries, and we believe we will achieve that with Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.”

With heart disease being a leading contributing factor to many deaths in the country, the medical services of Cleveland Clinic will come as a major boost with the Clinic being recognized as the number one heart center in the U.S. according to Dr. Harrison.

“We plan to start functioning by 2015” said Dr. Harrison when asked on when the clinic would be opening.

The clinic will be providing 12 institutes dealing with specific medical issues according to Dr. Harrison.

“There will be a heart and vesicular institute, we will have a neurological institute, a digestive disease institute, and many others.”

Medical services at the clinic in Abu Dhabi will match that of the clinic in the US, “During our recruitment process, we hold candidates to the same standards we would in the US, so if they are good enough to work in our clinic in the USA, they would be approved to come and work in the UAE.”

The recruitment drive at the medical facility has been big, with 3,000 caregivers, and 175 doctors employed by the clinic.

“15 per cent of our caregiver workforce will be Emiratis, while 5 per cent of our doctors will be Emiratis. We want to recruit Emiratis but it should be Emiratis who convince their best and brightest to pursue a career in healthcare and to serve the community, and so that we can hire them.”

Sami Zaatari is a trainee at Gulf News.