Business & Money | Saturday 10 January, 2015 1:58 pm |

In the next step in its efforts to diversify and Emiratise its innovative leadership team, VPS Healthcare, an integrated healthcare provider with a network of hospitals and medical centers, has announced the addition of Dr. Ibtesam Al Bastaki as Director for Dubai and the Northern Emirates.
Dr. Shamsheer Vayalil, Managing Director, VPS Healthcare, has expressed strong dedication to the continued growth of operations both in the UAE and abroad by on-boarding the best and most experienced professionals from a diverse array of backgrounds.
“Building a successful healthcare organization requires diverse talent, medical expertise, state-of-the-art technology and, above all, coordination between different organizations,” explained Dr. Shamsheer Vayalil, “only by maximizing these attributes we can establish a truly successful healthcare delivery system. Dr. Ibtesam will now be a vital part of this growing architecture.”
As the new Director of Dubai and the Northern Emirates, Dr. Ibtesam Al Bastaki will be responsible for development, improvement of healthcare strategy and performance for VPS Healthcare’s in these areas. She brings with her more than 15 years of distinguished experience in healthcare.
In short span of time since she has joined VPS Healthcare, Dr. Ibtesam has already prepared a detailed roadmap for successful growth in Dubai and the Northern Emirates and is all set to open new facility at Dubai under the brand name of Medeor 24X7.
Medeor 24X7 Hospital, premium multi-specialty hospital located in the prominent area of Dubai and brings in an exceptional healthcare delivery system that is community based and offers a full continuum of high quality and efficient medical services. The hospital comprises of around 100 beds with all major specialties and expert team of doctors on board to create centre of excellence such as Mother & Child Care, Urology, Gastroenterology and Laparoscopic surgery. A state-of-art laboratory and diagnostic imaging facilities such as the 1.5 tesla MRI, high end 160 slice CT Scan and dual detector X – Rays.
The United Arab Emirates is actively expanding its national healthcare system to meet the growing needs of both Emiratis and expatriate residents, and these developmental requirements are now flowing northward beyond Abu Dhabi and Dubai. This is partly the result of favorable government policies, as well as a response to rising costs in the southern Emirates, where real estate prices are soaring. The private sector is working to meet the increasing demand for high-quality, accessible healthcare. Dr. Ibtesam’s hiring comes just a week after VPS Healthcare announced the hiring of its new Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Ali Obaid Al-Ali with the objective of strengthening its leadership by bringing talented and distinguished Emiratis on board.
“As the nation strives to realize its healthcare goals under the direction of the Ministry of Health, we strongly believe that the evolution of healthcare services will be top priority in Northern Emirates and will have a positive effect on the entire country”. Dr. Shamsheer Vayalil further said that Dubai’s status as an ascendant global city offers ideal opportunities to draw medical tourism by creating world-class facilities that will attract patients from neighboring countries in the region, as well as minimizing outbound medical tourism. This will lead to accelerated economic development for the UAE.

VPS Healthcare started its first hospital, the Burjeel Hospital for Advanced Surgery on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai last year, and within a short span of time it has become one of the finest medical facilities in the UAE, providing top-quality, state-of-the-art services in joint surgery, pediatric orthopedics, hand surgery, sports orthopedics, and spine surgery, among others.
Dr. Ibtesam’s role is critical to VPS Healthcare due to her intimate understanding of the needs of Dubai and the northern Emirates, coupled with her strong background in health strategy and regulation.
Prior to joining VPS Healthcare, Dr. Ibtesam served as the Director of Health Operations and Business Development at the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) where she was responsible for the development and improvement of overall healthcare performance, among other tasks.

She was also a member of the Governance Council of the International Hospital Federation and a scientific chair for the International Family Medicine organization. Dr. Ibtesam also served as Head of Health Strategy & Performance at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) where she was involved in federal KPI and healthcare strategy. Dr. Ibtesam has been an active participant in her community, promoting various health awareness programs.