Dubai: A veteran Indian gynaecologist who retired after three decades of service at government hospitals in Dubai was given an emotional farewell on Monday.
Humaid Al Qutami during Dr John’s farewell ceremony
“I am leaving Dubai with a deep satisfaction that all the medical students who graduated while I was the academic head of the Dubai Medical College have taken on the baton and mantle and are doing exemplary work in the field of gynaecology and obstetrics,” said Dr Mary John who spoke exclusively to Gulf News.
Dr John, 71, who worked tirelessly for 29 years, joined Dubai Hospital in 1987 and subsequently moved to Latifa Hospital in 1992, She served as the head of gynaecology at Latifa Hospital from 1996 -2006 and eventually held the post of head of the Dubai Gyanaecology and Fertility Centre (DGFC) from 2013 until her retirement.
Under her, the DGFC, which pioneered infertility treatments in the emirate, delivered nearly 3,000 babies. Her staff joked that she is responsible for delivering many senior government officials.
“Dubai has transformed from the quiet little hamlet it was and there has been such sophisticated advance, especially in the field of gynaecology,” said Dr John, who handled normal deliveries in the 1980s and introduced laparoscopy and minimal invasive surgery.
Dr John pioneered many gynaecological protocols while in office and has been credited with many firsts.
Dr Muna Al Tahlak, CEO of Latifa Hospital who is a protégé of Dr John and a graduate of Dubai Medical College, was all praise for Dr John. “Under her, Latifa Hospital was the first in the region to receive a JCI accreditation and she introduced very sophisticated sub- specialities such as feto-maternal medicine to manage critical pregnancies, coloposcopy, which is screening for cervical cancer, uro-gynaecology as well as gynaecology oncology. Among her most important achievements has been getting the Canadian accreditation for DGFC, which is a first in the region. Most of the current heads of departments at DHA such as Dr Manal Al Taryam, CEO of Primary Health Centres, Dr Aliya Al Mazroui, CEO of Rashid Hospital, and, of course, me, have been her students. The first batch of graduates from Dubai Medical College are now heads of departments and we are honoured to have worked under her.”
Humaid Al Qutami, chairman of the Board and director-general of Dubai Health Authority (DHA) said: “The DHA would like to thank Dr John for decades of dedicated service and for her constant perseverance to develop gynaecology services at the DHA in line with international standards.”
He added that under Dr John’s leadership the DGFC become the first centre in the Middle East to obtain ACI international accreditation for the embryology laboratory.
Dr John leaves Dubai for the US by the end of the month to join her children and enjoy her retirement.
