Gastroenterology centre to be set up at MEH this year

Manama : A specialised Gastroenterology and Liver Disease Centre will be set up by Middle East Hospital (MEH) in the Kingdom later this year.

The centre, which will be located at the fourth floor of the MEH in Segaya, will be set up with the support of a world-renowned gastroenterologist and an expert hepatologist. MEH will be the first private hospital to have such a centre in the Gulf region.

In this regard, MEH Chairman Dr. Varghese Kurian signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Philip Augustine Associates Private Limited, an India-based healthcare consultancy.

Dr. Philip Augustine, who is the chairman of the consultancy firm, said his group is committed to help hospitals establish gastroenterology and liver disease units.

“We have set up such units in a few hospitals, and we are proud to associate with MEH for our first overseas operation,” he stated during a press conference held at the hospital.

“I believe that once established, the centre at MEH will provide complete coverage of abdomen diseases that have been on the rise in the Gulf in recent years,” he added. 

The centre would additionally include a Hepatitis C clinic for the effective treatment of the increasing number of such cases, he disclosed.

Dr. Augustine, is currently CEO and Chairman Medical Services of PVS Memorial Hospital in India.

Kurian, while commenting on the signing of the MOU, said the MEH was proud of its association with Dr. Augustine. He is a renowned gastroenterology specialist, whose expertise was recognised by the Indian government by conferring him with the coveted civilian title of Padma Shri.

“Our centre will be equipped with the state-of-the-art technology for treating gastroenterology and liver disease cases in Bahrain and other Gulf countries,” Kurian stated.

The signing ceremony was attended by Dr. Cyriac Abby Philips, consultant in hepatology and transplant medicine, and Middle East Hospital CEO Dr. Bahaa Fateha. 

MEH is built over an area of 7,000sqm and equipped with ultra-modern facilities. The newly opened state-of-the-art BD7 million, 85-bed Middle East Hospital is part of
VKL Holdings and Al Namal Group.