Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City (SSMC), a joint-venture between Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA) and Mayo Clinic, has launched its Adolescent Clinic in the UAE capital. 

 

This clinic is an addition, not only to SSMC’s suite of services, but the first multispecialty facility of its kind in the UAE, a hospital spokesperson said.

 

Paediatrics and adolescent medicine consultant and chair of SSMC's Adolescent Medicine Division Dr. Philip Fischer said: “We are adopting a unique approach by targeting adolescents as a specialised group. In the medical field it is still assumed that adolescents are paediatric patients, however, they tend to have different and unique needs that require a specialised model of care. 

 

"Many paediatricians are also trained to take care of patients who are 12 years old and under, so there is often a lack of connection which leaves teenagers stuck between childhood and adulthood from a health care perspective, creating an unmet need in a lot of teenagers that we can remedy with a focused clinic like this,” Fischer added.

 

The clinic will be co-ordinated by Fischer, who has decades of experience taking care of complex adolescent cases and is the author of research and educational articles about adolescent health as well as a new book about chronic fatigue, “Tired Teens.”  

 

It will develop a structure of care for adolescents, not only to resolve their problems, but do so in a setting involving multiple specialists. The centre will deal with an array of health concerns prevalent in teenagers, some of which often relate to puberty or life changes.

 

According to him, the clinic will tackle lesser-known ailments in teenagers, like chronic pain and chronic fatigue. While conditions such as acne or obesity are much discussed, chronic pain and fatigue in adolescent patients are often neglected or overlooked, he added.-TradeArabia News Service