Help - public hospitals in Dubai

Help - my DS is out on a visit visa until we can sort out residency visa but that wont be for a few months. He has no health insurance coverage for the UAE

Two weeks ago I took DS to a private hospital for what we thought was an infected hair folicle on his bottom which had turned nasty. Boys - why don't they tell you when they first notice something is wrong - he waited til it burst and was too painful to sit down !!

They immediately lanced and cleaned under a local and dressed the wound. Gave us anitibotics, painkillers etc. They said it would need further treatment but not for several months or even a year.

Yesterday it flared up - he is still on the antiboitics and daily dressing change at home. I took him back to the hospital and they treated him again. But they are saying he needs surgery now - 3 days in hospital and in bed for a couple of weeks and may take months before he will be ok !! oh and he will probably need skin grafts on his bottom. They have quoted 20,000 +++ dhs for the surgery and hospital stay - skin grafts would be extra. They know he has no insurance and we will pay.

Ideally we would send him back to Oz were he would be treated free in a public hospital but we have no family that would be able to care for him for such a long period or anywhere for him to stay.

We live in Abu Dhabi and a friend suggested we take him to a public hospital in Dubai as she thought it might be cheaper and they wont tell us he needs more treatment than is necessary.

I know you are all thinking why didn't we get him health insurance - he is young, fit and healthy and we thought we would have a visa sorted for him very quickly. But not the case - immigration/visa is proving a bit of a nightmare.

So - wonderful helpful ladies of this forum I need your help. Have any of you personally or friend/relative had surgery/treatment in Dubai without any insurance and know the charges at public hospitals and which public hospital? We don't have public hospitals in Abu Dhabi that we can take him to only private.

Please no debates on why he should have health insurance - we know he should but he doesn't and we can't get him any til he has a residencey visa.

Thank you