Muscat – The soft opening of Aster Royal Hospital, a new health facility in Ghubra, was held on Wednesday, with full-fledged opening scheduled in a few months.

A 200-bed facility, Aster Royal Hospital has 35 ICU beds and is equipped with state-of-the-art technologies, including robotics surgery.

The event started with a parade of vintage cars being flagged off from the new hospital by Alisha Moopen, deputy managing director of Aster DM Healthcare.

Dr Ashik Sainu Mohiyadeen, medical director of Aster Oman, said, “We have been in Oman for the last 14 years and it has been an incredible journey. Now is the time for us to give back to the community.”

The new building, which is next to Aster al Raffah Hospital, is ready for any major operation or complication, Dr Mohiyadeen informed.

“It will also benefit patients from Oman who travel to India for treatment. Doctors who are available there will come here on a regular basics. This will reduce the cost of treatment.”

Some of the special features of the new hospital include a dedicated floor for mother and child on the sixth storey, one-of-a-kind cath-lab (a special operation theatre dedicated to cardiac catherisation and interventional radiology), departments for gastroenterology, urology, orthopaedics, obstetrics and gynaecology, and a Stroke Unit.

Aster Royal Hospital is part of Aster DM Healthcare, currently one of the largest and fastest growing conglomerates in the MENA region.