National Heart Centre to be opened in Royal Hospital

By V L Srinivasan

Muscat, Jan 3: A state-of-the-art heart institute - National Heart Centre - is coming up on the premises of The Royal Hospital. The construction work on the RO30mn project will begin later this week.

The 140-bed centre is the first of its kind in the sultanate and is expected to be among the top heart institutes in the GCC region. It will have four each of operation theatres and cath labs and the centre will also impart training to doctors and paramedical staff on a regular basis.

"It is a gift from His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said to the people of the Sultanate. It will be a centre for excellence for treating people suffering from cardiac diseases," Dr Abdulla M al Riyami, senior consultant and head of the department of cardiology of The Royal Hospital told Muscat Daily.

One of the leading business houses in Oman has offered a donation of RO15mn
towards this cause, and the balance RO15mn is being provided by the government.
"The Royal Hospital has performed over 700 cardiac operations and 2,500cath lab procedures since 1990, and the numbers are growing steadily," said Dr Riyami.

At present, the department of cardiology in the hospital has 30 beds for adults while the postcardio surgery for children has four. Dr Riyami added that the present cardiology wing in the Royal Hospital will continue to receive patients as an emergency centre and those who need acute treatment will be referred to the new centre, he added.