Picking a Pediatrician

I see DR Syed Ahmed at City Hospital. I now started seeing him in his clinic at Family First on Al Wasl just because his hours are more flexible. He was referred to me by a friend and he's been following our son since he was 4 months old (shortly after we moved here). He's wonderful, soft spoken and amazing with my very difficult son. What I love the most about him is that he's not a 'drug pusher'. I find a lot of DR's here are quick to prescribe antibiotics ect... He listens- never rushes and is extremely knowledgeable in his field. No complaints here!

Dr Khan is great at the Cooper Clinic and Dr Gupta has now moved back to the Cooper Clinic from the Ranches. We use both and have no complaints.

Dr Talal Farha of Farha Childrens Clinic is great and we are fussy parents. He is truly a specialist and he has a special interest in paediatric cardiology. His clinic is in Dubai Healthcare City and he takes his time with you, is thorough and is a professional with your baby/child. His contact number is 043612404. I would definitely recommend him.

Could be anything from 425 to 550 aed (could be much lower in places but depends on doctor's experience, reputation and area, GP appointments probably cheaper but probably still have to see paed so paying double, I think it's much better here in Dubai that we get to see a paed first without referral. Good luck

Im new to the whole pediatrician thing. Back home we would just see a GP for any baby related issues. Im a soon to be FTM, and the way our insurance is set up currently, maternity/dependants are not covered....though Im hoping the dependant part changes soon! Anyone have any idea of the costs related to seeing a pead?

When it comes to paediatricians, I am qualified to say I have been around the block, . I will whole heartedly vote for Dr Talal Farha. Just opened his own Clinic in Dubai health care City. He is efficient, and if you need time, will never rush you. He listen to you and has a fantastic way with children, my children love him. Has has amazing up to date knowledge. Was almost impossible to find an appointment with him when was the head of paediatrics in the City hospital “ once I was offered an appointment 4 weeks after I needed it”. As a new clinic I now can find appointments much easier with him. His clinic number is 043612404 He also does children’s hearts Hope this helps:)))

We come from a medical system where you go to a GP rather than a paediatrician so this was all a mystery to us so I asked my Obgyn for advice. She said that the key thing is that the hospital will assign an on staff paed for your time in the hospital. If you want your paed to be involved from Day 1 then they have to have rights at the hospital you are delivering at. Assuming all is ok then it would be more normal to go for the two week visit with your paed. We delivered at City and felt comfortable there so researched the paeds there. We decided to do our two week visit with Dr Tilal and liked him so much that we always go to him. He is thoughtful; gentle (with both me and DD) and patient. One of the first questions he asked me was what i did for a job - so he explained things in the best way for me to understand. He also has a speciality in paed-cardio which has proven very helpful for us. DD had reflux and we discussed lots of different options and supported me wholeheartedly in trying many things before us agreeing that medicine was required. When we did start the medicine he was available by phone/email to answer questions I had as DD settled into the regime. He just takes his time, answers all our questions and genuinely enjoys being around kids. DD often sits on his knee while he is typing her notes etc and he lets her set the pace. On a typical visit DD is measured by the nurses; we then spend time with Dr Tilal and then any jabs are done by the nurses. Whilst we spend the most of our time with Dr Tilal his nurses are wonderful - another important to consider. Something else to note, that we learnt from experience, be aware of what ages hospitals that your Paed has rights with. 7 months ago, City could take newborns straight after birth but once discharged they can't go into the NICU and they can't go onto the normal paed ward until 28 days. They were looking at adding a step down faciltiy to bridge this gap so am not sure if this has happened yet. Welcare is the only private hospital that has 24 hr paed cover in the A&E clinic. If your LO does go into hospital you can not stay with them in the NICU but you can in the Paed wards. We ended up at Welcare when DD was 4 days old. The senior paed at Welcare was very knowledgeable and apparently is excellent at diagnosing problems but did not have the greatest bedside manner and made me feel like i was failing as my milk production was not enough. The nurses and LCs at Welcare were the opposite and could not have been more helpful. Sorry that I digressed away from just a paed recommendation but I wish I had known the above.

Dr Gupta at Arabian Ranches clinic . Brillant ped .

they should go for a checkup at one week, and then if everything is fine they don't need to go again until around 2 months, 4 months, 6 months etc for vaccines. Basically you really just need to keep an eye on their weight gain so you can always buy a set of baby-scales, download the WHO charts and do that yourself. if you plan to breastfeed then you may want to look for a Dr who is known to be supportive of breastfeeding or else simply don't discuss sleep and feeding with your paediatrician, i personally never do as I feel they are not trained in either and their advice generally does more harm than good.

I was recommended dr khan at cooper and dr Keith Nichols, neither of whom are covered under my insurance so that put a spanner in those works. However after more asking around I was also recommended dr shoula at Dubai London clinic and I like her a lot. Def not up for prescribing unnecessary meds, asks lots of questions, listens and takes loads of notes. Saw a couple of others before finding her and didn't like at all. Have to say I think nationality plays a big part in what you are going to be happy with.

I would recommend you scout the forums on here to see recommendations, and try them for yourself. From what I saw, the best ones around are: - Dr Khan @ Cooper Clinic (I go to him, he very helpful and informative, and gives his # so you can call him, appointments are easy to get) - Dr Loubster @ Infiniti Clinic - Dr Ahmed @ Kids First - Dr Waseem @ Medlink As other posts here have said, you should also look at your insurance as well as who is closer to you. When you have your baby the ped at the hospital will see him/her. Once you are discharged then you should go about finding the one you are happy with. I do not recommend Medcare Hospitals pediatric care from my personal bad experience there (I have another thread about that) Best of luck! <em>edited by sourskittleashnut on 07/09/2012</em>

I have been using Dr Loubser at Infinity Clinic on Al Wasal Road for the last two and a half years. For new patients it takes about 6 weeks to get an appointment as he is in high demand. He is very very good. One of the big things for me was the BCG injections, He did my first sons very well (won't let anyone else do them cos they can very easily go bad) so I refused it for my second son at birth and went to him at 6 weeks for the BCG. Overall I am very happy with him. Ive used a few around dubai, but he is my favorite. There is one drawback with him though - Because he is so busy it can be difficult to get an appointment if your baby is sick. Bookings are usually done about a month in advance for vaccines and checkups but you can't predict when your baby will be sick! You have to phone up at 8am each morning and ask if anyone has cancelled for that day. (I've had to do it four times and got in on three of those, but on weekends they are closed so can't go in) I have heard from friends that Dr Khan at Cooper Clinic is also good, and the new pead at City hospital Dr Kethar or something like that. One thing to check is your insurance policy and what is covered where. I love infinity clinic BUT its pay and claim, which really annoys me because I am terrible at organization and always loose the papers before they get sent to insurance. City Hospital is direct billing so I only have to sign for it, so with some things I will go there or to one of the EHL clinics. Hope this helps.

this is really a tough thing to choose. firstly, there is no such thing as interviewing here.secondly, once the baby arrives you might want to consider a lot of things before choosing. as i don't drive so i wanted a doc who is easily accessible through metro or taxi . every time dh isn't available to take our son to doc if required and i didn't want to spend quite a amount taking taxi to and fro. it might sound weird or some people might take it otherwise but i found that choosing doctor of your nationality is better.reason for this is your lifestyle and eating habits are different then others and he/she will be able to guide accordinly. my son is 4 month old and i am already onto 3 doc...so far staying with him for the moment as he is better. you want doc to listen to you and at the same time give you advice too. wherever you are delievering for the time being see the paediatrician there only and if comfortable then why not go along with him. ps: good luck with the delievery and finding a doc here :) <em>edited by angel joy on 07/09/2012</em>