24/7 Cold & Flu Clinic by RAK Hospital screens over 400 patients everyday

In line with the UAE’s aim to expand the scope of screenings, the 24/7 Cold and Flu Clinic by RAK hospital is conducting over 400 tests every day on average. Moreover, the hospital is conducting further screenings for corporates in Ras Al Khaimah as well as the government institutions.

The 24/7 Cold and Flu Clinic was set up with the aim to help identify persons at the risk of the virus and segregate them from the ones who may only be suffering from seasonal flu or cold. Furthermore, this also ensures safe arrangements and infection-free environment for OPD and ER departments as the clinic is set up away from the main hospital building.

Elaborating on the clinic, Dr Raza Siddiqui, Executive Director of RAK Hospital said: “UAE has conducted over 2.6 million Coronavirus tests since the beginning of the outbreak and our aim is to contribute to the government’s efforts by extending the screenings and helping in the early detection of those infected with COVID-19 and isolating them. We are following all the Covid-19 protocols laid out by the Ministry of Health and Prevention thereby providing a safe environment for all our patients.

“We understand that there are patients who may be avoiding hospital visits simply because they fear catching the virus. However, they can allay all their fears as we provide a complete infection-free atmosphere. As such, even before COVID times, we have had a zero-infection policy at the hospital. Intensifying our efforts, we also conduct frequent and regular screenings for all our hospital staff as well to ensure complete safety of the visiting patients,” he added.

The screening is performed following the highest standard of infection prevention, ensuring the personal safety of patients and staff alike. Combined with Level 3 bio-safety lab to rapidly diagnose the virus to real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), the world’s standard test for accuracy, the Clinic delivers accurate and reliable results within a maximum time of 48 hours.

Dr Raza further added: “It is encouraging to see that as awareness regarding Covid-19 becomes more public, there is an increasing number of patients coming in for testing as well. We hope that this initiative will help create a safer environment for residents of Ras Al Khaimah and beyond”.

Tests are conducted as per the standard price for COVID 19 testing/screening at AED 370per person.

As per the World Health Organisation, the common symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, dry cough, and tiredness. The less common symptoms could be aches and pains, nasal congestion, headache, conjunctivitis, sore throat, diarrhoea, loss of taste or smell or a rash on skin or discolouration of fingers or toes.

The UAE government has been at the forefront of battling Coronavirus with its timely action and has proved to be a success story in containing the pandemic. Through its active screening programme across the country, the government has been able to identify active cases and take appropriate measures to help patients recover.