Premier Hospital Executive Director Doctor Fardosa Ahmed. [Photo/ Maxwell Ngala] 

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A new state-of-the-art private hospital has been launched in Mombasa.The new facility, Premier Hospital, aims at curbing outbound healthcare that has seen hundreds fly out of the country to seek specialized treatment abroad.Premier Hospital Executive Director Doctor Fardosa Ahmed said the new health facility aims at stemming the rising number of patients leaving the region in search of better healthcare.“We are already partnering with various consultants countrywide so that we can give the best healthcare. The fact that we are located in a tourist town will enable us to promote medical tourism by reducing the need for patients to travel abroad to seek treatment,” said Dr Ahmed.Dr Ahmed said the medical tourism market is estimated at around 40 to 50 billion USD and is growing at 15 percent.Globally, around 11 million patients travelled to other countries to seek treatment in 2015, with over a half a million foreign patients seeking treatment in India alone.“We are not leaving out the middle class because we will be providing NHIF services so that we give a wider range of access to both local and international clients,” she added.Ahmed said the strategic position of Kenya as a rapidly expanding investment and technological hub creates a good opportunity that the country should exploit.Premier Hospital is a tertiary care facility situated in Mombasa along Links Road in Nyali.“We have partnered with various doctors and clinical staff to ensure the hospital provides exceptional healthcare and wellness services within the Coastal region of Kenya.She said the hospital’s operating philosophy is anchored on compassion, care and competence and a key focus on customer experience.The new hospital has a Pediatric Outpatient Centre, Surgical Suite, Cardiac Suite, Orthopedics Suite, Women’s Suite, Oncology Suite, Sectional Specialty Suite, Dialysis Suite, Day Chemotherapy Suite, Minor Theatre, Day Surgery and Endoscopy Suite.“The hospital is seeking strategic partnerships with doctors, insurance companies and corporations with a view to providing choice and access to quality healthcare,” added Dr Ahmed.According to the World Bank Statistics 2015, Africa is reportedly losing over a billion US Dollars (approximately 1 trillion shillings) annually to medical travel.Data from the health ministry, indicates that the key reason why patients seek treatment abroad is for the management of non-communicable diseases among them cancer, high blood pressure and diabetes among other diseases.