Rabie Ben Saddik: ‘Morocco has made notable progress in recent years in terms of the provision of hospital care’
The opening of the International Clinic of Tangier represented a significant advance in the city's healthcare provision. Its director, Dr Rabie Ben Saddik, reviews its activities and the treatments it offers for Atalayar.
The CIM Group has been in operation since 1994 and the International Clinic of Tangier since 2021. How did it get started?
The CIM Group was created in 1994 by Dr Assad Chaara, a Moroccan cardiologist of international renown. The group's first clinic was opened in Rabat in 1994. Today, the group has four clinics in Morocco: the International Clinic of Tangier, the International Hospital of Casablanca, the International Clinic of Marrakech and, of course, the Cardiology Clinic of Rabat.
To date, it has more than 200 beds, 10 operating theatres and 4 intensive care units, in addition to the main medical specialities. It has become a centre of reference. How has it grown over the years?
It is true that the arrival of the International Clinic of Tangier has changed the healthcare provision in the city and the region. As you mentioned, we now have 200 beds. The clinic also has 10 operating theatres, multi-purpose resuscitation services, cardiovascular resuscitation, neonatal resuscitation and intensive care units.
It is a multidisciplinary clinic and we also have a radiology centre and a biological analysis laboratory. Patients do not have to leave the clinic to receive other complementary care, including dialysis sessions in case of emergency.
What are the group's specialities of reference?
Our centre of excellence is cardiology: interventional cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, from birth to adulthood. We have several centres of excellence: cardiology, intensive care, orthopaedic traumatology and ophthalmology.
It is, therefore, a multidisciplinary clinic and we offer patients high quality care provided by highly competent teams of doctors, paramedics and administrative staff. We also have a very advanced technical platform. We work with highly qualified teams for practically all the specialities that the clinic offers its patients.
What kind of people visit the International Clinic? Foreign businessmen who have settled in Morocco?
The clinic receives anyone who feels unwell and needs medical attention. We are open 24 hours a day, with an emergency service that operates continuously. We also have a resuscitation service, with a permanent staff of resuscitators. We receive all categories of people, all types of illnesses and we treat all possible ailments, whether medical or surgical.
The International Clinic of Tangiers has also established a series of collaborations and agreements with public and private establishments, as well as with organisations and companies, both Moroccan and foreign and multinational, that operate in the city of Tangiers.
Do you work with private insurance companies?
The clinic works with practically all insurance companies. We have no problem working with any type of insurance. The only requirement is that the person is registered and their rights are recognised. We work with all possible insurance companies, here in Morocco and abroad.
How has healthcare in Morocco evolved in recent years, in both the public and private sectors?
It is true that Morocco has experienced notable progress in recent years in terms of the provision of hospital care, but in general the health sector is undergoing extraordinary reform following the recommendation and strategic guidelines of His Majesty Mohammed VI.
Morocco is now entering a new era in the healthcare sector, both in the public and private sectors. There are many hospital structures that are gaining momentum and this is important for the national population, but also for foreigners, investors and anyone who stays in Morocco or is just passing through. That is why it is important that Morocco currently offers quality care with highly competent teams and highly qualified technical platforms.
What would you recommend to an entrepreneur who is setting up in Morocco and wants to cover their healthcare needs and those of their family?
Any investor is always welcome in Tangier, in Morocco. There are no problems with medical care: we have everything necessary to deal with any type of medical or surgical intervention, whether for the investor, their family, their friends or their employees, in the event of illness or an accident at work.
We have modern facilities offering quality care with highly competent teams and new generation techniques. The range of care on offer is really diversified and quite comprehensive in Tangier and in practically all the big cities in Morocco.
