EXPANSION of the trauma and emergency centre at Rashid Hospital, a key hospital in the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) network, is 60 per cent complete, said a top official.

The expansion will add 160 beds and will cost Dh161 million ($44 million).

Essa Al Maidoor, director-general of the DHA, said: “We announced the project for the expansion of the Trauma Centre in May 2013. The expansion is presently 60 per cent complete and we expect to complete this project by May 2015. The construction is taking place using the pre-engineering concept so that the trauma centre can carry on with serving the needs of patients without any interruption.”

Al Maidoor said the design of the expansion has been developed keeping in mind all the requirements needed for a hospital that has a high volume of patients.

In 2013, 166,000 patients were treated at the centre, with demand almost doubling since the centre began operations in 2006 and treated 86,000 patients in that first year.

The expansion of the trauma centre is the first phase of the Rashid Hospital master plan.

The Dh3-billion ($816-million) masterplan includes six new specialised health centres, one four-star and another five-star hotel, villas and flats for staff accommodation, a mosque, lakeway and landscaping and open spaces for children and families.