The total number of hospital beds across the UAE is expected to rise to 14,000 by the end of 2020, equivalent to an annual growth rate of 3% over the next two years. The number of hospital beds in 2010 was estimated at less than 8,000 beds .

"The number of hospital beds compared to the population in the UAE (the number of hospital beds per 1000 people) is the lowest among the GCC countries at the moment," said Prasnat Mangat, CEO of NMC Healthcare.

"The vision of the UAE to be one of the top 20 healthcare markets in the world requires a sustained focus on the healthcare sector. At the same time, compulsory health insurance will increase capacity and create the momentum for the market. An emerging medical tourist. "

Currently, Abu Dhabi and Dubai are implementing mandatory health insurance for all residents, while the Northern Emirates are moving in the same direction. Some sources in the insurance industry say the first steps in this regard could be taken urgently later this year.

"The UAE is among the top 20 countries in terms of health care spending per capita, and the UAE spends 26% of total healthcare spending in the GCC. New absorption ".

Some in the sector believe that much of the required absorptive capacity is already in place to meet the needs of the population over the next three to five years. They believe that after injecting substantial investment in the first seven years of this decade, health care operators should stop breathing. Instead of focusing on adding just a new family, the focus of future investments should be on specialized care rather than on creating more capacity in primary health care.

"The cost can be divided into two parts - one financial and one temporal - and without taking into account real estate costs - where they can vary by location, etc., the cost of creating new absorptive capacity depends on the type of medical facility being created, With a primary, specialized, advisory or specialized care.The cost of a specialist mid-to high-level care facility can range from AED 1.5 million to AED 3 million per bed, and costs will continue to rise with improved medical technology and higher quality Labor force "These costs are almost the same across the region, and for time costs, regulatory approvals in the UAE are always faster than any other country in the region."