Nahyan opens Emirates Society of Emergency Medicine Scientific Conference

ABU DHABI, 8th December 2015 (WAM) --- Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, on Tuesday opened the Emirates Society of Emergency Medicine Scientific Conference (ESEM 2015), which will run to 10th December bringing together to emergency medicine experts to discuss the latest developments in Emergency Medicine and exchange innovative ways to overcome its challenges.

The conference, organised for the second year by the ESEM, is an important platform for medical professionals to exchange expertise and knowledge about advances in Emergency Medicine. It empowers physicians and raises the level of emergency medical care in the UAE in line with the UAE vision to achieve a world-class healthcare system strengthened by qualified human capital and the right resources.

In his opening remarks, Sheikh Nahyan said, "Our country, which has just celebrated its forty-fourth anniversary as a nation, has become one of the world’s most important global crossroads. In forty-four years we have built a complex infrastructure, expanded our economy, established a tolerant and cooperative knowledge-society, and welcomed talented and ambitious people from all over the world."

"We have moved into the future in an innovative and aggressive fashion. We have encountered plenty of surprises and our fair global share of unexpected and seriously acute illnesses and injuries. Emergency medicine professionals have prevented countless deaths and have halted innumerable instances of further disability. Those heroic deeds have been performed both in the pre-hospital setting by emergency medical technicians and in hospital emergency rooms by emergency physicians and their professional colleagues.

I am not at all exaggerating when I say that the United Arab Emirates would not be the country that it is today had those heroic deeds not been performed. A high-pressure, fast-paced society, especially one as diverse and vigorous as ours, must ensure that its medical facilities and its medical professionals are truly prepared to meet whatever medical challenges emerge from the ceaseless human activity at this global crossroads."

"To that end, President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has encouraged and supported the development of both public and private healthcare enterprises of the highest quality. And in Abu Dhabi, many of you also know and admire the positive health-care actions taken by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates spare no effort to ensure the well-being of our population," he added.

In the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Nahyan said, many of you here are part of those healthcare efforts, all of them dedicated to following the very best practices that the world of medicine has to offer. Those best practices will inform this conference.

He said he was impressed by the superb qualifications of the distinguished international faculty members who have come here today from fifteen nations the world around. "They will enrich the busy days at this second Emirates Society of Emergency Medicine Scientific Conference, and you all will surely depart even better prepared than you are today to perform your heroic deeds."

Speaking about the future, Sheikh Nahyan said, "None of us can ever be certain about the future. We can, however, be reasonably certain that we will face a crisis somewhere, sometime, somehow. In the future of almost everyone is sudden and intense difficulty, trouble, or danger. Even before experiencing such a crisis, we know by reading, and we sense by intuition the truth of the American poet James Russell Lowell’s observation in an essay on Abraham Lincoln that [and I quote] "it is by presence of mind in untried emergencies that the native metal of man is tested." It occurs to me that I am addressing an audience whose metal is tested daily."

Addressing participating emergency doctors and experts, he said, "You confront everything from dislocated shoulders and headaches to the bloody consequences of natural and man-made disasters. You confront those life-threatening emergencies on a random basis. You never know your next challenge from day to day, hour to hour. You must routinely summon the presence of mind that will enable you to draw flawlessly on your extraordinarily broad knowledge of medicine and a variety of extremely well-developed clinical and technical skills. You must immediately recognise a patient’s medical problem, evaluate it, care for it, stabilise it, and arrange for its further treatment. Then you must apply your presence of mind to the next emergency."

Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak concluded, "Quite honestly, I don’t know how you do it. I do know, however, that I am deeply reassured that you are devoting so much time and energy at this international conference to the strengthening of your professional knowledge. When paramedics pick us up and the emergency physicians treat us, we will be counting on them to provide us the best of care. We will be counting on you. Thank you for your commitment to helping us all in the best ways possible."

Dr. Saleh Fares, President of the Emirates Society of Emergency Medicine said, "ESEM has helped to reshape UAE’s perspective of Emergency Medicine. It supports the country’s national agenda, which emphasises the importance of the healthcare system’s preparedness to deal with health risks, epidemics and emergency situations. Patient outcomes are greatly enhanced through such expert knowledge sharing and professional peer development."

The UAE is rapidly expanding its infrastructure across all sectors to meet the growing needs of its people with the healthcare sector a priority within the government’s agenda. This includes raising the level of the healthcare system across all the emirates to meet the best international standards; simultaneously developing the local workforce and supporting economic diversification.

Dr. Nadeem Qureshi, Chairman Scientific Committee of ESEM 2015, said, "This year’s scientific program will see world-renowned emergency medicine specialists presenting unique and comprehensive presentation of emerging medical knowledge. Participants will gain insights of new updates and guidelines throughout the EM scope all with the hope of allowing attendees to critically evaluate, and eventually, incorporate these new findings into routine clinical management. ESEM’s goal is to bring an invaluable educational experience for their audience, which they have been able to fulfil with tremendous hard work and commitment from their leadership."

The delegates have already met for a two-day pre- conference. The full conference started today and will finish on the 10th of December. Some of the key topics being discussed during the full conference include Cardiovascular Emergencies, Respiratory Emergencies, Emergency Medicine Nursing, Emergency Radiology and Disaster Preparedness among others.

The ESEM 2015 conference is being attended by more than 700 medical professionals dealing with the complex nature of emergency medicine; engaged in pre-hospital, in-hospital or inter-hospital emergency medical care and disaster planning. These scientific topics are being presented by more than 130 local and international experts and a panel of renowned faculty members who will address key questions in emergency medicine.

WAM/MMYS